The tailor

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T2.

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THE

TAILOR

LONDON :
HOULSTON AND STONEMAN,

65, PATERNOSTER ROW.

LONDON :
A. SWEETING, PRINTER, BARTLETT's BUILDINGS, HOLBORN.

TTS10
T2.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

I.— On the importance of choosing a suitable trade

or occupation . . . » » . . 5

II. — A brief historical sketch of the Tailor's trade 12

III. — Advice to Masters and Journeymen concern-
ing fashions, and to Parents respecting the
choice of a Master 19

IV. — On the first duties of an Apprentice, and the

best method of performing them . . .24

V. — A description of the different kinds of stitches

used in tailoring 34

VI. — Directions for sitting properly, and learning

to sew 42

VII. — Directions for making a Waistcoat, Trowsers,

Breeches, and Coat . . . . .49

VIII. — Directions for measuring and cutting out a

pair of Trowsers, a Waistcoat, and a Coat . 70

IX. — On the great importance of good health and
of a respectable character, together with some
cautions and directions to Apprentices and to
joung Journeymen 06

THE TAILOR.

CHAP. I.

THE choice of a trade is too important an affair to
be made without due consideration, inasmuch as when
it has once begun to be acted upon, it can seldom be
altered without involving a great loss of either time
'or money, and probably of both.

And yet it were better to incur this rather than to
hazard the well-being and the usefulness of the man,
by compelling the youth to continue at an occupation
for which he has no aptitude, or which may be unfa-
vourable to his future health and vigour ; but it were
still better to avoid, if possible, both the mistake and
the inconvenience to which it inevitably leads. There
is, doubtless, much difficulty in solving the double
question, as to the fitness of a youth for the trade
he may seem to prefer, and the suitableness of this
trade to his constitution and habits. This difficulty
is not, however, wholly insurmountable, and may,
perhaps, be somewhat obviated by attending to the
following hints : In regard to the first part of the
question, it may be well to observe the usual bent of
the young mind, in regard to its more sober amuse-
ments, and it will, probably, be apparent from this,
whether or not there is any aptitude for learning this
or that business. If, for example, a boy be expert in

O GUIDE TO TRADE.

constructing miniature buildings, or furniture, ma-
chines, or clothes, or ornamental articles, and that too
without the advantage of suitable tools, it seems right
to conclude that he is likely to succeed well in his
attempts to learn a trade analogous to his amusement.
As to the second part of the question, it will be
proper to notice the general health of the youth, and
to learn from competent judges, how far he is liable to
be affected by the atmosphere he will have to breathe,
the articles he may have to use, or the habits to which
he must conform himself, in order to his fully learning,
and profitably following, the trade to which he is in-
clined. At first thought it may seem desirable to
choose a trade which requires but little hard labour,
and which, moreover, has the reputation of bringing
good wages ; but every thoughtful and judicious parent
or guardian will readily perceive that these advantages
are dearly bought, if they have to be purchased at the
expense of future health and continued usefulness ;
and they probably will be thus dearly purchased, if
care be not previously taken to ascertain how far the
youth is fitted for the trade, and also, how far the
duties and the habits necessarily connected with it,
are likely to be favourable, or otherwise, to the pre-
servation of his mental and bodily health. An atten-
tion to these or similar precautions will, perhaps, be
found more useful in helping to make a judicious
choice than is the common practice of putting a youth
to a trade for a month or two, on trial as it is called,
but which is frequently no trial at all, as he is most
commonly employed during this time in matters which,
if not quite foreign to the trade, have yet but little
direct bearing upon it. And if he were put to it at
once, yet it would be of but little use in determining
the question, as the novelty of his situation will suffice
to keep him in good humour for the time, even though
he be really unfit for being permanently employed in

THE TAILOR. /

that way ; while, on the other hand, the time allowed
for trial is too short to allow of its being seen whether
the trade is likely to be harmless, or hurtful, to his
health. There is a necessity for something of the
precaution recommended, even though the trade pro-
posed be merely that of a tailor. It is, indeed, com-
monly supposed that any one, whatever be his consti-
tution or ability, is competent to learn this trade;
and, accordingly, if a boy be of weakly constitution,
or of slender capacity of mind, he is put to it, in the
full confidence that he is, hereby, disposed of in the
best manner ; but this is a great mistake, and one
that is often fraught with much future inconvenience,
if not positive miser}*. For though tailoring does not,
indeed, require much hard labour, yet there are few
trades in which there is so constant a demand upon
the bodily powers, or in which the consequences of
following it closely are likely to be more seriously
and permanently injurious to the health. Yet if there
be not unremitting attention given to the work while
at it, it is impossible either to do it well, or to do a
sufficient quantity in a given time, and a failure in
either of these respects is sure to be disastrous to a
workman, and that too in no slight degree ; but any
one can see, that to force a feeble or unhealthy boy
to sit for ten, twelve, or fourteen hours per day, in a
close and hot shop, made yet more unwholesome by
the frequently dirty habits or diseased state of the
workmen, must effectually ruin a feeble constitution,
and will evidently go far to shake and impair even
the strongest. Unless, therefore, a boy be healthy
and strong, let him not be made a tailor, if his future
comfort, well-being, and usefulness in society, be
thought objects worthy of consideration ; let him
rather be put to an out-door, active trade, or even be
made a servant, or a labourer, so that he may have an
opportunity of improving and confirming his health,

£ GUIDE TO TRADE.

and thus pass through life with tolerable comfort to
himself and advantage to others, neither of which
will he be able to do if he be a sickly and feeble
tailor. If a lad be of weak intellects he is equally
unfit for the trade with him that has a weak or un-
healthy body. Such a one should on no account be
put to it. He will never learn it well, and, conse-
quently, will be doomed to hopeless and helpless
poverty if he have no other resources ; while the pro-
bability is, that he will be so unwisely or harshly
treated by his thoughtless fellow-apprentices, and by
ignorant, unfeeling, depraved workmen, as to become
increasingly feeble, if not wholly and permanently
disordered in mind. This is no dream, nor is the
picture overdrawn. The writer has seen not a little
of the evils which he here deprecates, and against
which he wishes to give a timely warning, and he has
also felt severely, during many years, the pernicious
effects of a sedentary and debilitating employment
upon an originally feeble constitution. Nor should a
boy be put to this trade if he have not an aptitude for
it. If he really have this aptitude, it will be shown by
his having a settled inclination to be a tailor, and,
farther, by his making efforts, though that be but in
the way of amusement, to gain some knowledge of the
trade. If, on the contrary, a boy manifests no par-
ticular predilection for the business, and makes no
effort to prepare himself for going to it, it may be
fairly concluded, that he will never make such pro-
gress in it as to be able to prosecute it with advan-
tage, either to himself or others. It was long since
remarked by a shrewd observer, and a good judge of
both men and things, that ' many a man has run his
head against a pulpit, who would have made an ex-
cellent figure at the plough tail.' And another has
said to the same effect, that c many men in the Tem-
ple and the other Inns of Court, have wasted both

THE TAILOR. 9

their time and their property in vain efforts to become
lawyers, who would have made clever and useful
watermen at the Temple stairs.' In like manner
there have been numbers of men, who have consumed
their lives miserably to themselves and uselessly
to others, as tailors, who might, and probably would,
have been both happy and useful had they been
brought up as husbandmen or porters. If there be a
want of readiness and cleverness about a lad, if he be
slow in comprehending, or unable to remember, the
instructions given him — if he cannot be made to per-
ceive what is orderly or exact, neat or tasteful, in
regard to his work, or if he be impatient of confine-
ment or restraint, or is habitually inattentive or dis-
posed to indolence or inactivity, he is utterly unfit for
the trade, and cannot be expected to make himself a
competent workman at it. So well is this understood
by clever and industrious workmen, that it has long
been a sort of proverb among them, that ' a man had
better be a bricklayer's labourer than to be either a
slothful or a slovenly tailor.' And they are right in
this opinion, for there can be no question that the
active and efficient labourer is both a happier and a
more useful man than is a tailor of this description.
The remark so often made — half jestingly, and half
in earnest — that a tailor is but the ninth part of a man,
probably took its rise from workmen of this character.
There is, indeed, a different story current in the shops
as to the origin of this saying, but as it is one that
flatters the vanity of tailors it is most probably a
fiction. It will be seen that these remarks apply
chiefly to boys whose friends can afford to give a pre-
mium for having them taught, and who, therefore,
have the power of either choosing or rejecting a trade
as it may seem to be desirable or otherwise. But
where the parties are unable to do this, and the boy
has no opportunity to learn any other trade than that
B 2

10 GUIDE TO TRADE.

of a tailor, they ought even then to * count the cost'
before they put him to it. If his father be of the
trade, and is either a journeyman or a little master,
he will, in all probability, be too poor to apprentice
his son to any other business, so that there is only
Hobson's choice ; the lad must either learn his father's
trade or none. Yet, even in this case, which seems
to be one of necessity, it will, eventually, be found
the wisest plan to ascertain how far the boy's capacity
and inclination are favourable to his becoming a good
tailor, before he be permanently put to the business.
There is, indeed, in this case, a strong motive for
almost compelling a lad to work at the trade, in order
thereby to add something to the father's scanty in-
come ; but this advantage ought to be resolutely given
up, if the lad's constitution and turn of mind be evi-
dently such as to disqualify him from becoming a
good workman. The father should, indeed, take care
to be quite satisfied upon these points before he con-
sents that his son should remain ignorant of a trade,
which, with all its inconveniences, yet justifies what
was once said by a father, when pressing his son to
learn it, viz. that ' a trade is a valuable gift of God,
and has a golden foundation.' But so soon as he per-
ceives that the lad is not likely to make a thoroughly
good tailor, let him use all his influence and make
every possible effort to procure for him some other
and more suitable employment. He may make a
good servant or labourer, although he would never
become a clever tailor, in which case the advantages
accruing to him, in regard to both comfort and profit,
will, by a considerate father, be thought an ample
compensation for the loss he may incur by the change
of his son's occupation. In many cases, however, the
apparent unfitness of a boy for the trade is caused
solely by his thoughtlessness, or his perverseness ;
and, in this case, there ought to be every prudent

THE TAILOR. 11

effort on the part of the father to correct what is
wrong or defective in the son. If these efforts be
made prudently and perseveringly, they will proba-
bly succeed in prevailing upon the boy to learn his
trade well enough to be able to follow it with both
satisfaction and profit ; at all events he ought not to
be given over at once, or without a fair trial, and thus
left in ignorance of a trade which, though it be far
less profitable than formerly, is still sufficiently remu-
nerative to a clever and steady workman, to warrant
all reasonable efforts towards inducing a boy to learn
it if he have the opportunity of so doing. He ought
not, however, to make the attempt, unless he be de-
termined to learn it thoroughly, and is willing to
make the efforts necessary for that purpose, as with-
out these he cannot succeed. Let it not seem strange
that so much is said about the importance of being a
good workman — it is said advisedly, and it would be
well if every one who intends to learn the trade could
be brought to believe, that the necessity for learning
it thoroughly was never so great as at the present
time.

There is a superabundance of workmen every
where, and, on this account, a great reduction of
wages has to be submitted to by such as are not
clever at their work. It is only the men of first-rate
abilities who can reckon upon getting any thing like
regular employment, or adequate wages for their
labour. The inferior hands must, in these days, ex-
pect to get little work, and for this little to be very
badly paid. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands,
of such men in London alone, who are not employed
above half their time, and whose wages are miserably
low — consequently, they are in a wretchedly poor and
destitute condition. Many of them, however, deserve
pity rather than censure, for they were never taught
to work neatly and cleverly, or else they were wholly

12 GUIDE TO TRADE.

unfit for the trade, but which they are now compelled
to follow, although by following it they may be said
to starve rather than to live. To prevent the increase
of this large and wretched body of men is the object
of this little book. It is believed that the precau-
tions herein recommended will, if duly observed, tend
to lessen the number of inferior workmen, by keeping
incompetent or otherwise unsuitable persons from
being put to the trade. While, by communicating
such information respecting the trade itself as may
enable a beginner to perceive something of its nature
and requirements, it is hoped that the difficulty of
learning it may be somewhat lessened, and the fa-
cilities for learning it well be proportionably in-
creased. The following pages, therefore, will be
directed to both these ends, and as the information
they contain is the result of the writer's experience
and observation during nearly forty years, it is hoped
they may be useful to such as either intend or are
now learning to be tailors.

CHAP. U.

AMONG savages, or but imperfectly civilized nations,
it is usual for every one to make his own garments,
consequently, the trade of a tailor has no place among
them ; inasmuch as a trade consists in the preparing
or making certain articles, which are exchanged for
money or for other goods. But it is not until society
has made considerable progress in civilization that this
is done. It is then found that,' by confining the at-
tention and exertions of an individual to one single
and separate occupation, better articles are pro-
duced at, upon the whole, a less cost ; and it is at
this point, therefore, that trades commence. Of these,

THE TAILOB. 13

the Carpenter's, the Mason's, the Smith's, and the
Wheelwright's, are perhaps among the first that are
introduced ; the Tailor's, however, is not the last ; for
men seem to have been employed in making clothes
for others in the way of trade, before they were re-
quired to act as Bakers, Brewers, or Butchers. The
making clothes seems indeed to be an employ-
ment better suited to women than to men; and, there-
fore, Tailors have generally been considered as a
somewhat effeminate class ; yet it is a fact, that even
among uncivilized nations, who usually are not remark-
able for effeminacy, the man commonly makes his own
garments, if not those also of his wife and children ;
and it seems to have been so from very ancient times.
There are intimations of this practice in the Bible ;
which informs us, that ' Israel' made ' a coat of many
colours' for his son Joseph ; and farther, in another
place, that ' no man putteth a piece of new cloth upon
an old garment,' which operation, although common
enough with us, would have been almost impossible
in regard to the thin muslin garments there referred
to (similar ones to which are yet worn in eastern
countries).

That men were once commonly employed in mak-
ing up dresses or clothes for females, as 'well as for
males, seems to have been the fact, both in England
and some other parts of Europe. They were thus
employed in Italy, as is intimated by Shakspere, who,
in his play of ' The Taming of the Shrew,' introduces
the character of a tailor, whom he represents as hav-
ing brought home a dress which he has made for Ka-
therine, and there encountering, to his real dismay,
the pretended violent anger of Petruchio.

As regards England, the practice seems to have
formerly been very general, and there are even now
some traces of it remaining — as, for example, in the

14 GUIDE TO TRADE.

articles of stays, riding-habits, and pelisses, which are
still made by men.

As to the antiquity of the trade in this country, it
seems to have been well established at a compara-
tively early age. This appears from the fact of the
* Merchant Tailors of London' having been formed
into a chartered company early enough to elect Ri-
chard the Second a member of their body ; and far-
ther, from Shakspere's play named after that monarch,
in which he gives a humorous account of a black-
smith listening with eager attention to ' a tailor's
news.' By the way, the dramatist might as well
have told us the errand on which the tailor went to
the smith's shop, for, as it is, it seems as though he
neglected his work for the sake of an idle gossiping,
and thus justified the charge of indolence long since
made against his fraternity, and which even now is
so frequently repeated. ' Be it known,' therefore,
* to all whom it may concern,' that it was formerly,
and probably is now, in some places, the custom of
the village tailor to take his iron goose to be heated
at the smith's forge. We will, therefore, for the cre-
dit of the trade, presume that, in this instance, he had
either to take his iron to be heated, or to fetch it
home for use, and availed himself of the opportunity
hereby afforded for telling the news of the day to his
friendly and inquiring neighbour. By this conjecture,
(and is it not a plausible one ?) the tailor's character
for industry is at once saved, and we see that, al-
though the smith's ' iron on the anvil cooled,' to his
manifest detriment, the more prudent and considerate
tailor continued to ' drive business,' even while in-
dulging himself with a little recreation. Doubtless,
Shakspere knew all this — for what did he not know,
relative to men and manners ? He was, therefore,
guilty of a wilful suppression of facts, and ought to

THE TAILOK. 15

have been amerced in damages, fixed by a jury of
tailors, for thus leaving the fair reputation of a bro-
ther snip under so dark a cloud of suspicion.

But, apart from all pleasantry, it ought to be
known, for the credit's sake of both a large class of
men and of their trade, that tailors are not, as a
body, justly chargeable with indolence. Nor have
they much temptation to this vice, seeing that they
generally work at piece-work, i.e. for so much per
garment, and in this case their earnings depend upon
their diligence ; or, if they work by the day, i. e. at
so much wages for a given time, they are then tasked,
and the man who cannot or does not perform his task
of work, or, in the tailor's phrase, * keep up to his
log,' is pretty sure of being speedily dismissed by the
master. There is, therefore, in either case, every in-
ducement to diligence, and it may be safely affirmed
that these inducements are not ineffective ; for by
far the larger number of tailors are as perseveringly
industrious men as could be found in any other trade.

This, however, is a digression, yet it seems proper
to answer a charge so commonly made and so perti-
naciously adhered to ; for were it founded in truth, it
would affix a lasting and deserved disgrace upon the
whole body of tailors; unless, indeed, it could be
shown, that there is something in the trade itself
which naturally leads to indolent habits ; and in either
case it would be a serious fault on the part of pa-
rents or guardians to allow a boy to go to the busi-
ness.

It may have been that this disreputable character
was given them on account of circumstances, in regard
to which, whatever else they were guilty of, they were
certainly blameless. It was formerly the customary
practice, in the small towns, the villages, and se-
cluded country parts of Great Britain, Germany, and
other countries, for the tailor, with his apprentices

]6 GUIDE TO TRADE.

and sometimes his workmen, to go to work at the
houses of his customers. As there would necessarily
he a considerable interval between the times of his
going to the same house, there would frequently be a
somewhat large accumulation of work, both in making
and mending : this would, of course, make it neces-
sary that he should continue there for several days,
or perhaps for a week, or even longer. It is not sur-
prising that the coming of the man who was to put
all the family into their best trim, should be looked
for, by both young and old, with some degree of plea-
surable expectation. Such indeed was the fact, and,
therefore, when the tailor made his appearance, it was
the signal for a scene that was more like a holiday
than a serious attention to business. The elder people
were glad of a little gossip with one who probably
was more conversant than themselves with the news
of the day, while the younger ones found ample amuse-
ment in the novelty of the scene, and in either play-
ing with or teasing the apprentices or workmen.
Meanwhile both these and their master were plied
with ample refreshments in the shape of ale, home-
made wine, cakes, or the like, between meals, and at
meal-times were expected, and almost compelled, to
eat as much as would serve for ploughmen or threshers.
Thug situated, it was altogether impossible for them
to do much work ; indeed, work would, in this case,
necessarily become a secondary consideration ; the
first being to contrive to get as much ease as might
be possible, under the pressure of too much repletion.
The consequence of all this was, that but little work
was done. It was indeed day-work, but then there
was no tasking. When night came, the wages were
considered to be due, and at the proper time were
cheerfully paid, whether they had been earned or not ;
but upon this point there was in fact no need for the
tailor to be troubled, since none but himself or his

THE TAILOK. 17

helpers could tell whether or not the workmen were
worthy of their hire.

This easy mode of working was, doubtless, accept-
able to the tailors, and that it was duly appreciated
by them is manifest from their giving it the designa-
tion of * Whipping the Cat;' hereby intimating that
they were at these times not much more beneficially
employed than if they had really been employed in
the flagellation of that useful animal.

From these circumstances, probably, arose the opi-
nion that tailors are habitually indolent. They con-
fessed their fault in this instance, and an uncharitable
use was made of that confession ; but there is no rea-
son to question their industry at other times. When
thus employed, they had a powerful temptation to
consult their ease, and they doubtless complied with
it ; but when they worked at home, and their adequate
support depended entirely upon the amount of then*
earnings, the probability is that they were then, as has
been just hinted that tailors are now, quite as diligent
as any other class of workmen.

But, be this as it may, the temptations of the * cat-
whipping' days are no longer prevalent. Tailors
have long since almost universally ceased working at
the houses of their customers ; and, therefore, what-
ever may be the degree in which they indulge them-
selves in indolence, the consequent loss is their own.
And as to over-repletion when at work, they well
know, as then* own proverb intimates, that ' a half-
starved tailor works the best,' and, consequently,
there are not many who allow themselves to either
eat or drink in temperately except on holidays, or at
other leisure times. At the present time, indeed, they
have a tolerably good security against habitual excess,
in their much reduced and still decreasing wages,
Avhich, in most cases, are not more than enough tc
procure a bare subsistence. Thus much may suffice

18 GUIDE TO TRADE.

in vindication of the general industry of tailors. In
continuation of this account of the trade, it would be
proper to notice the varieties of dress in different
countries, together with the changes of fashion among
such nations as from time to time vary the shapes of
their garments. But this would require a large vo-
lume, rather than one or two small pages. The
changes of fashion in England alone, during the course
of the last few centuries, have been almost innumer-
able ; and they have been as various as numerous.
So remarkable, indeed, have our countrymen long
been for then* versatility of fancy in regard to dress,
that there is a pleasant story of a painter, who, being
employed to depict the costumes of different nations,
when he came to the Englishman, painted him naked,
with a roll of cloth under his arm, alleging as the
reason for so doing that he was so fanciful that it
was impossible to know what fashion would please
him, and therefore he had left him naked, and given
him the cloth, in order that he might cut out and
make his garments in the shape that, for the present,
best suited his fancy. And in allusion to this ever-
changing taste, there was formerly at the door of a
clothes-shop in the city of London the image of a
naked boy, who also bore a roll of cloth, with this
significant inscription, ' I would be clothed, if I did
but know the fashion.'

But though painters and ready-made clothes-dealers
may safely afford to ridicule the frequent changes of
fashion, it is not for tailors to do so ; as it is upon
these variations that they depend for a great portion
of their employment.

THE TAILOll. 19

CHAP. III.

HOWEVER trifling a matter it may be in itself,
whether clothes be cut and made in either one mode
or another, it is not a trifling affair to him who has to
gain a living by making these clothes. Tailors, there-
fore, if they do not, ' as indeed they cannot, all assist
in leading or introducing the fashion, ought, in every
instance, and as a matter of positive duty, to adopt
any and every new mode of either cutting out or mak-
ing up garments, as soon as possible ; and should
moreover take all possible care to learn that mode
perfectly.

Nor ought they, as tailors, ever to complain of any
fashion that is favourably regarded by the public,
however odd or unreasonable they may consider it to
be. When, however, it is laid by for one that is
newer, and thought to be more becoming, they may
then safely criticise it ; but while it is in favour, let
them keep their private opinion of it to themselves,
and endeavour to follow it as closely as possible.

This advice addresses itself to masters, journeymen,
and apprentices. To the latter, indeed, it is of great
importance, in order to their future success, that they
early learn to observe the fashions very carefully — and
farther, that they endeavour to put their work to-
gether in an exact and neat manner, so as not to spoil
the appearance or the fitting of a well-cut garment,
which is easily done by a careless and slovenly work-
man. As apprentices usually begin somewhat early
in their apprenticeship to attempt making their own
clothes, it may not be amiss to advise them not to be
careless in making them because they are for them-
selves ; but rather to take extra pains and care to make
them well and fashionably. Nor will they in this case

20 GUIDE TO TRADE.

have any difficulty in doing so, inasmuch as, when
making their own garments, they are not often strait-
ened for time. Nor should any one, who wishes to
succeed well at the trade, shrink from resolutely
grappling with what may be troublesome or difficult,
as well as strange, in a new fashion. The master will
better consult his own interests by explaining and
recommending to his customers a new mode of cut-
ting or making up garments, than by waiting until
they tell him of it, and express a wish to have their
clothes made in accordance with it. The journeyman
must not be unwilling to be again a learner ; much
less must he refuse to be so, contenting himself with
repeating the hackneyed shop-board saying, that ' an
old dog cannot be taught to learn new dances;' he
must rather make every possible effort to adapt
himself both speedily and cleverly to the required
change. And the apprentice must not imagine that it
will be time enough when he becomes a journeyman
or a master to be clever in imitating new fashions,
but should be willing to believe, what is strictly true,
that if he does not while he is young acquire a rea-
diness in learning a new mode, there is but little rea-
son to hope that he will possess it when he is older.
All this advice may, indeed, seem needless or trifling
to a slothful or careless tailor, but all others will ac-
knowledge that it deserves to be carefully followed.

While on this subject a few words of advice to pa-
rents, on the choice of a master, will be neither out of
place nor superfluous. An intelligent active boy who
likes the trade, will, indeed, learn his business in spite
of many and serious disadvantages ; but even he will
learn it sooner, and consequently be sooner able to
make it profitable to himself, by being placed with a
suitable master. The more careless lad, however, will
perhaps through the whole of his future life suffer
loss from not having been placed with either a com-

THE TAILOK. 21

pet cut or a conscientious master ; and there are, un-
happily, too many masters who are deficient in the
one or the other of these respects.

Care should be taken to choose a master who is
deficient in neither, for if he be incompetent to teach
an apprentice he ought not to have one bound to him,
however conscientious a man he may be ; while, on
the other hand, if he be either unprincipled or other-
wise vicious, the probability is that proper pains will
not be taken to teach the apprentice, or, if he does
not much neglect him in this respect, that his ex-
ample will be seriously if not fatally injurious to the
boy's moral principles and character.

Whether a boy be apprenticed to what is called a
little or a large master, may, at first thought, seem to
be a matter of no consequence. It is, however, of
considerable weight, and deserves to be considered by
all who can afford to choose betwixt the one and the
other. There are both advantages and disadvantages
in either case : for example, if a lad be apprenticed to
a large master he will \& far more likely to have
opportunities of seeing a closer attention paid to the
fashions, and also to see a greater variety of garments
made, than if he were put with a little one. More-
over, if he be intended in due time to become a mas-
ter, he will be able to learn the methods of conducting
a large business in a tradesman-like way. But these
advantages are likely to be quite balanced, if not
overweighed, by the bad consequences that may ensue
from his being obliged, before his principles are fixed
or his character formed, to mix with a large number
of workmen, the majority of whom will be likely, both
by their example and their conversation, to have a
baneful influence upon his morals. There is also the
farther danger of his attention being called from his
work by the follies and frolics he will have to
witness, and this may beget a habit of carelessness

22 GUIDE TO TRADE.

that will ultimately prove seriously prejudicial to his
interests.

The writer has seen much of these evils, and bears
witness to their frequency; he has, indeed, seldom
seen an apprentice thus circumstanced who has suc-
ceeded in becoming either an industrious or a clever
tailor during his apprenticeship. Some of these idle
and careless youths do indeed make a better use of
their time afterwards, but it is evident that even these
are considerable losers by their former imprudence,
being obliged to spend their own time — and sometimes
money also — in order to learn that which they both
could and should have learned at the expense of their
masters.

There are not, however, many of these young men
who are inclined, even if they have the ability, to make
these sacrifices ; the majority of them, therefore,
either continue to be very inefficient workmen, while
others become tailors' porters, or 4 trotters' as they
are technically called, in allusion to their being almost
continually ' on the feet,' in waiting upon either the
master or his journeymen.

These evils will probably be avoided by appren-
ticing the lad to a little master, who is also an indus-
trious worthy person and a good workman ; but in
this case, the greater part of the advantages con-
nected with being put to a large one must be fore-
gone. Yet there is good reason to hope that this
disadvantage will be more than compensated by the
benefit accruing to the lad from being regularly under
the control of an upright and sober man, who knows
his trade, and who is conscientiously desirous of see-
ing his apprentice become a clever workman.

If a lad takes pains to learn all he can or may
learn from a master of this description, he will, when
he becomes a journeyman, readily adapt his hand to
other, and — to him — new modes of working ; and also,

THE TAILOR. 23

to the making of such garments as he has hitherto not
been accustomed to make, or to see made ; as for ex-
ample, military and naval uniforms, court dresses,
ladies' riding-habits, pelisses, and the like ; or if, when
his apprenticeship is expired, he immediately becomes
a master, he will, without much difficulty, learn the
fashions as they succeed each other, and be able to
conduct his business in a way creditable to himself
and satisfactory to his customers.

But if, after all, it be determined to put a boy into
a large shop, much of the mischief to be apprehended
may be avoided by stipulating that he shall, from the
first, be put under the care of a sober, industrious, and
experienced workman, who shall have authority given
him to enforce attention to the work, and while on
the board to watch and control his conduct in other re-
spects. It should be the care, as it is the duty, of the lad's
parents or guardians, to see for themselves that this
agreement is strictly fulfilled ; not allowing themselves
to trust implicitly to the representations of the ap-
prentice, who, if he be carelessly or viciously inclined,
will, though sure to be a sufferer thereby, think it
better to have it broken than kept.

He will not, however, be put at once and entirely
to the needle, unless it be previously agreed upon
that he shall be, as it is the general rule to employ
much of a boy's time during the first two years of his
apprenticeship in waiting upon the master or his fore-
man, keeping the cutting-room and sometimes the
workshop in order, going on errands to the draper and
the trimming-seller, taking home clothes, and the like ;
and no judicious parent will object to his being thus
employed during the time above named, as it is in-
deed necessary to his future usefulness that he should
well understand these and similar matters. It should,
moreover, be kept in mind, that his health is less
likely to be impaired by his being gradually accus-

24 GUIDE TO TRADE.

tomed to work on the board, than if he were wholly
confined to it from the first.

CHAP. IV.

IN what has been hitherto said, reference has been
made to all the parties concerned; but in what
follows, the apprentice alone will be addressed, and
he is earnestly advised to follow the ensuing direc-
tions, as he will thereby be the sooner able to be use-
ful to his master, and he will probably find that his
personal comfort will be advanced in proportion to his
usefulness. He is moreover requested to bear in
mind, that although some of these directions refer
more especially to a large trade, yet that he will find
them generally applicable to a small one.

Among his first duties as an apprentice will be the
care of the cutting-room and workshop ; these he will
be expected to sweep and otherwise to keep in an
orderly state, and he should be told beforehand, that
in each of these he may either make himself very use-
ful, or do much mischief, accordingly as he is attentive
and careful, or the contrary. The cutting-room will
require to be thoroughly swept every morning at least,
and perhaps also at noontide. In order to prevent rais-
ing a cloud of dust, which ought always to be here care-
fully avoided, he must sprinkle the floor with clean
water ; but if, as is sometimes the case, it be covered
by a carpet, he must then use moist tea-leaves, or any
other wetted substance that will allay the dust without
soiling the carpet, or making it too wet. Before, how-
ever, he moistens the floor, he must take care to take up
from it every thing which may be useful, and that
may have been accidentally or otherwise placed there.
He will probably find paper patterns, either in whole
or in part, of different garments and for different cus-

THE TAILOR. 25

tomers ; and these should be put into their proper
places. As he will at first, unless previously in-
structed, be often unable to distinguish between such
pieces of paper as are patterns and such as are not,
he will find it difficult to decide as to what should be
preserved, and what swept away. To assist him,
therefore, in this matter, he will find it useful to look
at the engraved plates.* The first series of figures
represents the different parts of a pair of trowsers.
Fig. 1. is the outside thigh of the trowsers; Fig. 2.
is the inside thigh ; Fig. 3. the waistband. The second
series is a waistcpat. Fig. 1. is the waistcoat forepart;
Fig. 2. is the waistcoat back; and Fig. 3. the collar.
The third series is the patterns of the different parts
of a coat ; Fig. 1. is the body, or forepart ; Fig. 2. is
the skirt ; Fig. 3. is the back ; .Fig. 4. is the outside
sleeve; Fig. 5. is the lappel; Fig. 6. the collar.
These are usually hung upon nails, or pegs, in the
alphabetical order of the names written on them, and
the corresponding letters, from A. to Z. placed
above them, so that the putting them up properly
is no difficult matter, while the contrary is often
productive of much trouble and loss of tune. He
will also be likely to find pieces of cloth which are
too large for shreds, and probably skeins of silk
or other threads ; also twist, buttons, and it may be
pattern books, measuring tapes, with many other
articles, each of which should be properly taken care
of. He had better by far be a little over-careful in
these matters than not careful enough, for it often
happens that what may seem to one who is unac-
quainted with the business of but little or no use, is,
nevertheless, of considerable importance ; and much
trouble often ensues from the losing or overlaying a
paper pattern, or a small piece of cloth, or other ma-
terial, when it happens to be of any particular colour.
* See page 71 and following pages.

26 GUIDE TO TRADE.

The cutting-board must also be put in order ; rolls or
other large parcels of silk, linen, calico, padding, can-
vas, &c. must, if they are in a partly unrolled or un-
folded state, be neatly rolled or folded up, and put
upon the counters, or the shelves, where such articles
are usually kept ; in short, whatever has been taken
out of its place and not put back again, should now
be carefully put away. New garments should be put
upon the clothes-horse, or wherever else it may be
the master's custom to have them placed, and great
care should be taken to fold them so that they be not
creased, or otherwise be made to look rough and un-
finished. They should, moreover, before the room is
swept, be covered with wrappers, so as to keep them
free from dust, or otherwise soiled.

Such garments as may have been cut out, and have
not yet been given to the journeyman, are commonly
tied up and laid on the cutting-board till wanted ; care
should also be taken of these that they be not untied,
so as to become intermingled ; and if the master or
foreman have left a garment on the board only partly
cut out, it should be the care of the apprentice, after
having removed it for the purpose of cleaning the
board, to replace it in the same position as that in
which he found it ; and, also, to put the measures-
book, measuring-tape, rule, or yard-wand, marking-
chalk, and shears, or scissors, in such places as that
they may be conveniently ready for use whenever they
are wanted. It ought to have been remarked, that
after the room has been sprinkled it should be allowed
to remain for a short time before it is swept, otherwise
it will be impossible to sweep it thoroughly, as the
dust will adhere to the floor, and cause it to be both
smeared and dirty. After the room has been well
swept it should also remain a few minutes before the
dust is wiped away from the board, shelves, chairs,
&c. or they will be covered with the falling dust so as

THE TAILOR. 27

not afterwards to look as though they had been pro-
perly cleaned. The workshop will also require daily
cleaning, and if it were to be swept and dusted twice
in each day, it would be better both for the conve-
nience and the health of the men. The work-board
must not, of course, be sprinkled or otherwise wetted
before being swept, but it should be well and
carefully swept, and wiped clean from dirt and
dust. Sleeve-boards, irons, iron-stands, and holders,
should be put into convenient places, the irons into
the oven or stove, if there be one, so as to be ready
for use when wanted. Each journeyman's work
should be laid by itself, and the apprentice is bound
to see that he does not intermingle one man's work7
or trimmings, or tools, with another's. He should
also take care not to sweep away any thing among the
shreds which is of the same colour and texture with
any of the garments in hand, for by so doing he
may put both journeyman and master to considerable
trouble, and the latter perhaps to some expense, to
repair the loss, or, what is yet of more consequence,
prevent a garment from being sent home to the cus-
tomer by the specified time, and thus hazard the loss
of that customer. The floor of the workshop and
the approaches to it ought to be well sprinkled before
being swept; shreds and pieces of every description
that are not of any use in the trade should be taken
away entirely, and not suffered, as is too often the
case, to accumulate in large heaps under the work-
board, or in corners, until they become moist or
mouldy, and, thereby, tend to make the always un-
wholesome atmosphere of a tailor's workshop still
more baneful to the health of the persons working in
it. Let him not think these directions to be either
needless or trifling, for he will find his account in
attending to them, both in regard to his own health
and comfort as well as those of the men's, and he

28 GUIDE TO TRADE.

will farther find that the men will be willing to take
trouble to teach him his business, and to do him ser-
vice in other ways, in proportion as they see him en-
deavouring to promote their convenience and comfort.
He should also keep the windows of the shop well
cleaned ; this is an important matter, especially in the
very ill-lighted shops so common in London and
other large towns. There is much care and some
judgment required in regard to the proper manage-
ment of the grate, or the oven, in which the irons
have to be heated. If it be an oven, the apprentice
is bound to see that it is regularly swept, and if need
be wiped with a cloth, so as to remove the dust or
the soot, which usually accumulates there, owing to
there being chinks or cracks in the sides or bottom
of the oven. If this be not attended to, the irons,
instead of being quite clean as they ought to be
when required for use, will be covered with a coat of
black matter that takes up time to remove, which
a journeyman ought not to be obliged to spend in
that way, and which, moreover, when his work is in
a hurry, as it very often is, he does not know how to
afford ; and yet, if he does not clean his iron well, he
runs the hazard of soiling and perhaps of quite spoil-
ing his work. The apprentice, therefore, should see
to this matter carefully and regularly, and also to the
keeping up a proper fire in the furnace or grate, as
the case may be : much time is lost and much serious
inconvenience is frequently produced through this
being neglected, and it certainly is the proper duty ol
the boy to attend to it wherever there is a boy em-
ployed in the business. No good-disposed and in-
dustrious lad will wish to throw the care of the fire
upon the workmen, nor will he refuse to clean or to
quench the irons that may be wanted for use. With
regard to fuel, he must take such as the master pro-
vides, and sometimes this is very unsuitable. Many

THE TAILOR. 29

masters have a notion that any rubbish will burn in a
furnace ; but this is a great mistake, and more espe-
cially so if the fire in that furnace be intended to
perform such work as thoroughly heating irons of
from sixteen to twenty or twenty-two pounds' weight.
Yet, it is not necessary that large or even shingly
coals should be used for this purpose. Small coal
and kitchen cinders partially sifted, mixed, and made
moderately wet, will compose a fuel sufficiently strong
to make and maintain a good fire. If the lad cannot
procure a proper supply of these articles, the men
should assist him by making a suitable representa-
tion to the master, and such a representation will not
often be in vain.

"If the irons are heated in the kitchen grate, and
this is often the case, both the journeymen and the
apprentice will find it to their interest to take all pos-
sible care of the fire, and, as far as they can, to heat
their irons at such times as are most convenient to
the mistress of the house or to the female servants.
Many men and lads are highly culpable herein ; they
seem to forget, or not to know, that this method of
heating tailors' irons is productive of serious and fre-
quent hinderance in regard to household affairs; they
ought, therefore, to do all they can to lessen this in-
convenience, whereas they frequently act as if their
object was to increase it. But hereby they ultimately
injure themselves, for neither mistress nor maid will
do any thing to help them in getting their irons heated.
When, however, a man or an apprentice shows a
concern to avoid giving needless or untimely trouble,
and is, moreover, willing to take a little care of the
fire whenever he has an opportunity of doing so, he
will generally find that pains will be taken to do him
a service in return, and, consequently, he will seldom
fail of getting a hot iron when he wants it. And this
is no trifling matter ; on the contrary, it is one of
c 2

30 GUIDE TO TRADE.

considerable importance, as, indeed, is intimated by
the import of the phrase, so common on the part of
the workmen, that 4 the iron is the best tailor/

The apprentice, especially, should guard against
showing this carelessness of household convenience,
as, if he does not, it may often lead him into much
trouble ; for as he will, probably, be held responsible
for the irons being properly and duly heated, he will,
if he does not secure the good- will of his mistress or
of the maid-servants, be likely to fail, and that too
very frequently, in the performance of this duty, and
thus incur the ill-will of the men and the displeasure
of his master. He need not be told, if he have only
common intelligence, that a lad thus situated is in no
enviable condition ; his best efforts should, therefore,
be directed towards the avoiding bringing himself
into it.

It was formerly the custom for the apprentice to
make iron-holders * and press-cloths j- for the use of
the men. It is not so usual now, but if a lad were
to provide such articles, and keep them in a clean and
perfect state, he would thereby be likely to insure a
return of good offices from the men, who usually are
very ready to instruct an obliging and attentive boy.

* These should be made of woollen materials, as cotton
or linen transmits the heat of the iron to the hand both so soon
and so powerfully as to make it very difficult to use them. They
should be made so as to bend over the handle of the iron, some-
what after the manner of a saddle on a horse's back, or they will
continually be falling off, and thus give much trouble to the
workman.

t These are made of two pieces of woollen cloth cut in the
shape of a sleeve-board, and sewn together at the sides and at
the largest end, near to which end a slit is cut across one of the
pieces, and at this opening the board is inserted. The use of
the press-cloth is to facilitate the smoothly pressing of thin
fabrics, such as linen or cotton ; and also to preserve white or
other light -coloured articles from being soiled by coming into
close contact with the board.

THE TA1LOB, 31

Another duty devolving upon the apprentice, is that
of dividing parcels of thread into separate skeins.
This requires to be done carefully, or much of it will
be wasted by its getting into a tangled state. To pre-
vent this, the whole quantity in one parcel, which is
commonly a quarter of a pound, should be drawn over
the knees, which should be kept far enough apart to
prevent the thread from being at all loose. He will
find that the parcel is tied round with a thread of a
different colour; this must be cut, and the skeins
taken off as smoothly as possible ; they are then
shortened by folding them into one-fourth of their real
length, and tied with a kind of slip knot, so as to be
easily undone. The whole should then be put care-
fully away, so as not to be exposed to the action of
the air, as this will soon untwist the thread, and make
it so loose and weak as to be unfit for use. The same
precaution is necessary in regard to sewing silk, twist,*
balls of cotton, and all sewing materials, which are
both soon and greatly injured unless closely wrapped
up.

He will also sometimes have to match cloth with
a pattern, either from his master's stock or at the
draper's shop, as also buttons, twist, facings, linings,
&c. ; and here he will find it necessary to learn well
how to distinguish, not only betwixt one colour and
another, but also between the various shades of the
same colour; or he will often cause himself much
needless trouble in correcting mistakes, and probably
put his master to both inconvenience and extra ex-
pense. He must not allow himself to be persuaded
by the draper, or the trimming-seller, to take any
article which he does not himself perceive to be of
exactly the required colour or shade. And he will

* Twist is a thread composed partly of silk and partly of
wool, and sometimes, as is the case with mohair twist, of wool
only. It is used for making button-holes.

32 GUIDE TO TRADE.

find, that a little attentive observation will soon enable
him to judge for himself as to what is, and what is
not, a good match.

Brushing, or otherwise cleaning,* folding, and pack-
ing clothes, are also among the duties of an apprentice,
and if he learn to be neat and expert in these ope-
rations, he will find it to conduce to both his present
comfort and his future benefit. Much depends upon
these matters, in regard to the appearance of a new
garment. If they be carelessly slurred over, the best-
made garment will exhibit a slovenly and unsightly
aspect. In brushing, care must be taken to use the
brush in the proper direction, viz. from the top towards
the bottom of the garment, so as that he may follow
the course of the nap, or, as it is called by tailors, ' the
wool.' And he must take care, while brushing, never
to move the brush alternately forwards and backwards,
as is the practice in scrubbing a floor, or in cleaning
shoes; as this will make the surface of the cloth
rougher than before it was brushed.

In folding garments, he must see that he does not
put them more out of shape than is absolutely neces-
sary. If they are to go only a short distance (in
being sent home), they will not need to be folded into

* If they be of linen or cotton fabric, and are soiled by the
handling of the workman, they may be tolerably well cleaned
by rubbing them carefully with a piece of clean soft bread.
Starch, finely powdered and pressed through a muslin or other
fine linen bag, by knocking it upon the soiled place, is often
useful. To take out grease spots from woollen garments, spirits
of turpentine may be used with good effect ; or if the smell of
this be objectionable, sal-volatile may be substituted for it, and
will be found to answer the required purpose equally well.
Whichever of them is used, the same process is to be observed
in applying it. A piece of woollen cloth is to be wetted with
the spirits, and then rubbed briskly, and also with some exertion
of strength, upon the part requiring to be cleaned ; and in the
course of a few minutes it will be freed from the grease.

THE TAILOR. 33

a very small compass ; but if they are to be sent to
any considerable distance, and in a packing-case, they
must be packed in as close a manner as is at all con-
sistent with their being kept in a tolerably smooth
state. The exact manner in which they should be
folded is not easy to be described ; nor, indeed, is it
of much importance that any specific mode of folding
should be pointed out, were it more easy to do so than
it is, since any lad of fair intelligence and cleverness
will readily contrive a method of doing this both neatly
and conveniently. He will only want to keep in mind
the necessity of keeping the clothes (to be packed) as
free as possible from the danger of being tumbled or
creased. And he will have ample opportunities of
seeing that both these evils may be nearly avoided by
a little careful management.

In taking home clothes to the customers, he will
often have garments for different persons, and there-
fore he must take care to place them in his parcel, or
over his arm, in such order, as that he may have that
garment uppermost which is first wanted. This pre-
caution will prevent tumbling the garments into a
rough state, and also the danger of delivering them at
the wrong places. If he takes parcels or cases (con-
taining clothes) to the coach, waggon, or packet office,
he must on no account either leave them or lose sight
of them, if he can prevent it, until he sees that they
are properly booked by the person receiving them. If
he neglects this precaution, the consequence will pro-
bably be that parcels or packages will sometimes be
irrecoverably lost.

34 GUIDE TO TRADE.

CHAP. V.

BUT it is now time to pass from these preliminary
duties, in order to give some directions respecting the
use of the needle. It must not, however, be thought,
because these duties have been dwelt upon prior to
saying any thing about the use of the needle, that the
apprentice is not at all instructed in sewing until he
has made himself master of these. The fact is, that
boys are usually put to the needle when not other-
wise wanted from the beginning of their apprentice-
ship. But these other avocations have been classed
together, and first named, for the purpose of insuring
some degree of orderly arrangement in the contents
of this little treatise. And here it will be proper,
before giving directions for sewing, first to enumerate
the different kinds of stitches, and then to explain, as
clearly as may be possible, the manner in which each
of them is done. And, first, as to the different sorts
of stitches, which are — the basting-stitch, the back
and fore-stitch, the back-stitch, the side-stitch, and the
fore-stitch ; also the back-pricking stitch,* the fore -
pricking stitch,* the serging-stitch, the cross-stitch,
and the button-hole stitch ; besides which there is a
distinct kind of stitch for hemming, filling, stotting,
rantering, fine-drawing, prick-drawing, over-casting,
and also for making what are called covered buttons.
The basting-stitch is a long and slight stitch, in-
tended to be merely temporary, or to fasten together

* The only difference between these stitches, and the back-
stitch and fore-stitch is, that the needle is not, as in them, turned
up, and brought back through the cloth, but is tirst put entirely
through, and then passed back again, so as to ensure a thorough
hold being taken of the cloth on each side. It is used in thick
fabrics, where great strength of workmanship is required.

THE TAILOR. 35

some of the inner and concealed parts of the gar-
ments. It is commonly used to keep the work in its
proper position while being sewed.

The back and fore-stitch is made, as the name im-
plies, by the union of back- stitching and fore-stitch-
ing ; in this stitch the needle is first put through the
cloth, and turned up in as short a space as is possible,
so as to make a neat and strong stitch when com-
pleted ; it is then put through the cloth again in the
same place as at first, and again turned up, taking
care that it passes through the cloth as nearly as pos-
sible within the same space as before. This being
done, the first back-stitch is completed. The second
stitch is made by passing the needle forward upon the
surface of the cloth, but without taking hold of it,
over a space equal to the length of the first stitch ;
the needle is then again put through the cloth, turned
up, and brought back to the place where it was last
put through, so as to form another back-stitch ; which
is followed by another putting of the needle forward,
or, in plainer terms, another fore-stitch, and so on, in
the same order, until the seam is finished. This kind
of stitch is used for sewing linings, pockets, flannel
garments, and other thin fabrics. There is no need
to say much respecting the back-stitch, as this may be
understood from what is said above respecting the
first stitch in back and fore-stitching. This stitch is
used for seams where strength is required ; it is also
sometimes used for ornament, instead of the side-
stitch, but in this case it must be very neatly and re-
gularly made.

The side-stitch is used for the edges of garments,
to keep them from rolling over, or from being drawn
out of shape. It is always intended for ornament as
well as use, and requires a very quick eye and a care-
ful hand to do it well. In this stitch the needle is
passed through the cloth a kittle above or below the

36 GUIDE TO TRADE.

place from which it came out in the former stitch, but
it must be at a very little distance from this place, or
the sewing silk will be visible on the surface of the
cloth, which is a great blemish, and yet it must be
far enough away from where it came out to prevent
its breaking through, in which case the stitch is lost,
both as to use and ornament. Care must also be
taken, that the stitches are at regular distances from
each other, and that the whole of them are placed at
the same distance from the edge of the cloth. In the
fore-stitch, as has been already hinted, the needle,
when drawn out from the seam, is always put for-
ward, so that an equal quantity of thread, or a stitch
of the same length, is visible on each surface of the
cloth.

Serge-stitching is done by passing the needle
through the cloth, from the under to the upper piece —
throwing the thread over the edges of the cloth so as
to keep them closely together. It is also used to join
selvages together, as also to prevent taking up more
space for seams than can be spared, when the pieces
are barely large enough for the required purpose. It
is not, however, much used by tailors, except where
no great degree of strength is required.

The cross-stitch is formed by two parallel rows of
stitches, so placed as that the stitch in the upper row
is opposite to the vacant space in the lower one, the
thread passing from one stitch to the other in dia-
gonal lines, thus —

/YVvV\

It is used for keeping open the seams of such gar-
ments as require washing, and also for securing the
edges from ravelling out, in such fabrics as are too

THE TAILOR. 37

loosely made to allow of their edges being fastened
down by the filling-stitch.

In the button-hole stitch, the needle is first put
through the cloth from the inner to the outer surface,
and before it is drawn out the twist is passed round
the point of the needle, and kept in that position till
the needle be drawn out to the full extent of the
twist ; this forms a kind of loop, called by tailors the
* purl,' at the top or edge of the opening, and,
when regularly made, is both useful and ornamental.
To increase the strength of this stitch, and also to
aid in making it true or exact, a * bar' is formed on
each side of the opening, before the hole is begun to
be worked. This ' bar,' as it is called, is made by
passing the needle from one end of the opening to
the other (one, two, or more times), so as that there
is a layer, if it may so be called, of twist stretching
along its whole length (and on each side), upon
which the whole is worked, the workman taking care
to keep the ' bar' as near to the edge of the opening
as is possible, without allowing it to come over, in
which case the button-hole will be neither strong nor
neat.

There is not much need to say any thing about the
hemmirig-stitch, as almost every lad will have had
opportunities of seeing this used by his mother, his
sisters, or other females. It may, therefore, suffice for
this to say, that care must be taken to set it re-
gularly, and also as closely together as may be either
convenient or sightly. It must also be observed,
that the needle is not to be deeply inserted, as it
is necessary that the stitch should be as little visible
as is possible on the other side of the cloth. The
hand moreover must not be drawn in roughly, or by
a snatch, but so gently as to prevent cojAJkacting the
hem.

The filling-stitch is similar to that used i«i hemming;

38 GUIDE TO TKADE.

the chief difference being in the direction given to the
needle. In hemming, its point is directed outwards,
or from the workman, but in filling it is directed in-
wards, or towards him, and in each should be a little,
but only a little slanted, in order to give the sewing
a neat appearance. This stitch is used for sewing
on facings, and when made with neatness, and with-
out showing itself much on the outer side of the
cloth, is considered to be ornamental, as well as
useful.

Stotting (pronounced stoating) is the stitch used
for joining pieces of cloth so neatly as that the join
shall be but little visible, and yet strong enough to
prevent the pieces from being easily parted. In this
kind of seam the pieces of cloth are not laid the one
upon the other, as in back-stitching, but are placed
side by side, the edges being carefully fitted, so as to
prevent any irregularity or roughness in the work.
They are then sewn together by passing the needle
half through the thickness of the cloth. Care must be
taken to keep the stitches as near to each edge of the
cloth as can be done without incurring the danger of
its breaking through. The needle is put in on the
nearest edge of the two, and must not be slanted in
the direction given to it, but put as straight forward
as possible. The stitch should be drawn close enough
home to prevent the silk thread from showing itself
on the right side of the cloth, but yet not so close as
to draw the edges into a ridge. If the join be as
neatly made as it may be, it will, when properly
pressed, be barely perceptible. This stitch is used
for joining the pieces of cloth of which facings, collar-
linings, and other fillings-up of the inner sides of gar-
ments, are made, and also in other cases to prevent
the taking up too much of the cloth by making a
back-stitched seam.

Rantering, like stotting, is intended to conceal a

THE TAILOK. 39

join in the cloth. Here, however, it is requisite to
make a strong as well as a neat joining ; and, there-
fore, a seam is first sewn with a fore-stitch, and then
the rantering-stitch is worked upon or over this
seam. It should he worked with a very fine silk
thread, or with twist that has had one of the strands
taken out. The needle should be both long and
slender, and must be passed forwards and backwards
over the seam, so as to catch hold of its two sides,
and draw them closely together ; but, in doing this,
care must be taken not to take a deep hold of the
cloth : the nap or wool is all that should be taken
hold of, and this must be done with a light hand,
while the stitches must be placed close to each other,
so that the seam may be well covered with wool ;
when this is done, the seam has to be ' rubbed up,*
that is to say, it must be held between the fore-finger
and thumb of each hand, these being placed upon the
fore-stitching, and its two edges brought as closely
together as possible. The rantering must then be
slightly carded or scratched, backwards and forwards,
with the point of a needle, in order to bring the wool
out again where it has been drawn in with the stitch ;
the seam is then ready for pressing, and, if this opera-
tion be properly performed, will be as much concealed
as may be necessary ; while it will be much stronger
than if it had been merely back-stitched.

In fine-drawing, the stitch is formed in the same
manner as in rantering, but there is a difference in
the way of placing the pieces that are to be joined,
i. e. if they be separate pieces, for this stitch is mostly
used to close up places that have been accidentally
cut, or torn ; the two edges of the place requiring to
be fine-drawn are first trimmed by cutting away the
loose threads or ends of the cloth which may be
upon them ; they are then placed and kept in as level
or flat a position as is possible, either with the fingers,

40 GUIDE TO TRADE.

or by fastening them to a piece of stiff paper. The
needle should be both very small and long, and the
thread used, whether it be of silk or twist, should be
very slender. Greater care is here necessary than in
rantering, to avoid taking a deep hold of the cloth ;
the needle should be passed forwards and backwards,
over the opening, and the thread should be drawn no
closer or tighter than is quite needful, in order to
hide it in the wool. The stitches must be placed as
near to each other as is possible, so as to prevent the
edges of the cloth from being visible between them ;
if it be needful to make a strong as well as a neat
joining, the fine-drawing should be repeated on the
under side of the cloth, but here it will not be need-
ful to put the stitches so close together. When the
fine-drawing is done it must be pressed, but with as
light a hand and in as short a time as is practicable,
otherwise the sewing, however neatly done, will be
visible, and so far as it is so, the design of the fine-
drawing stitch will not be answered.

The stitch called prick-drawing is now but seldom
used, yet it may be proper to notice it briefly. When
this stitch is intended to be employed, the edges of the
cloth are first stotted together, after which the needle
is passed backwards and forwards in diagonal lines,
under the stotting, so as to make the join more strong-
arid durable, than it can be made by merely stotting
the pieces together.

This stitch is used where the cloth is very thick, or
hard and unyielding, and, consequently, where the
stotting-stitch would quickly give way without this
support. It is also better than a back-stitched seam
for cloths of this description, inasmuch as it can be
made to lie more flat, and thus to be more neat in its
appearance than a common seam.

Overcasting is used merely to secure the edges of
thin and loose fabrics from ' ravelling out.' In using

THE TAILOK. 41

it, the edges of the cloth, whether it be woollen, linen,
or cotton, are first trimmed clear of the loose threads ;
the needle is then passed through the cloth in a for-
ward direction, at about the distance of one-eighth part
of an inch from the edge of the cloth, and when drawn
out it is carried (from the left to the right, and not,
as in other stitches, from the right to the left) about a
quarter of an inch ; it is then again put through, and
on being drawn out it is made to pass over the thread
leading from the preceding stitch, so as to form a kind
of loop on the edge ; which loop secures the edge
from becoming too much frayed, or ravelled.

In making cloth buttons, which formerly were
almost universally worn, and probably will be again,
it is necessary to see that the bone moulds over which
the cloth is to be drawn, are all of the same size and
thickness. Yeiy thick moulds should be thrown aside,
as also should such as are very thin ; for the first will
make the button too clumsy, and the last will — most
likely — soon break. The coverings should then.be cut
in as near to a circular shape as is easily practicable,
and should be cut of that size which will allow of the
edges, when turned over the mould, nearly meeting
each other. They are then to be slightly sewn round
near the edge, and with a running stitch, either a serge
or a fore-stitch, according as the material used may
require ; for if it be likely to ravel much it will be
necessary to use the sergeing stitch. When this is
done, the edge is gently drawn together, but no farther
than will allow room for inserting the mould, which is
then put in, as nearly in the middle of the covering as
possible. The thread is then drawn tight, so as to
bring the edges of the cover close together, and then
the needle is passed over the gatherings from the near
edge of the button to the opposite one, the maker
taking care to keep regularly turning the button round
with the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, so as

D 2

42 GUIDE TO TRADE.

to carry the sewing over every part of the gatherings.
The bottom of the button will thus be composed of
thread, and therefore may be far more strongly sewn
on the garment than if it were fastened on by sewing
it merely through the covering.

These brief explanations may suffice to give a
general idea of the different kinds of sewing; and
this is all that is here designed. It is, indeed, all that
can be conveyed in any mere description ; and it should
be kept in mind that this book is meant to be only such
a guide to the learner, as may assist him to learn the
more readily when he comes to be employed about
what is herein described. This being premised, he
will now be addressed as being upon the board, and
he will, moreover, be supposed to be placed there
for the first time.

CHAP. VI.

THE first thing to be learned here is to sit properly;
for until this is mastered, the apprentice will not be
able to make much progress with the needle. It were
to be wished that some other and better working
position could be adopted, but there is little ground to
hope that this will be readily done. There have been
several attempts made to compass this desirable end,
but each has proved unsuccessful. It is indispensably
necessary that a tailor should have full command over
his work at all times, whether when sewing or press-
ing, and for all that has at present appeared to the
contrary, this can be gained only by sitting in the
usual cross-legged position. It therefore behoves the
apprentice to make a persevering effort to learn this
mode of sitting ; and if he will but do this, the incon-
venience felt thereby at first will soon be overcome,

THE TAILOR. 43

and then he will be the better able to give his attention
to the use of his needle. By sitting in this posture,
he will for a time feel some pain across the middle of
the thighs, and perhaps in the back also ; and this he
will do well to bear as long as he can, without being
quite distressed by it. When he really needs relief,
he may then alter his position in any way that may
give it him the most speedily and completely ; but he
ought not, for his own sake, to allow himself to remain
out of his proper working posture longer than is really
needful, for in doing so, especially if it be frequently
repeated, he will hinder himself from becoming soon
enough inured to the position in which he must learn
to sit if he intends to be a competent workman. He
will, moreover, by letting it be seen that he is willing
to make all the efforts he can towards learning this
matter, escape the somewhat needless pain to which,
otherwise, he may be forcibly subjected. For where
lads do not show a willingness to learn, or shrink too
soon from a little necessary pain, it is the custom to
use a little coercion, and sometimes, indeed, more
than a little. In this case, a sleeve-board is placed
across the boy's thighs, and kept there by means of
an iron goose put upon each of its ends. This is a
very painful operation, and one, therefore, which every
lad who is careful of his owji ease will take pains to
avoid undergoing.

In addition to the above-named inconvenience,
arising from learning to sit cross-legged, the apprentice
will most probably find that his outer ankle-joints will
become sore and swelled through being pressed upon
the board. This may be prevented by putting a soft
pad, or small cushion, under them from the first day
of his thus sitting ; but if this be neglected, and his
ankles are veiy sore or swell much, he must then take
care not to neglect easing them in the way pointed
out, or they will probably become inflamed, and may

44 GUIDE TO TBADE.

then require surgical assistance. The consequences
of all this will be, that he will lose time, which is, at
his age, extremely valuable, and his parents will be
put to, perhaps, considerable expense in repairing the
mischiefs which a little prudential forethought might
have altogether prevented.

In conjunction with learning to sit properly, the
apprentice will be expected to attempt learning to sew.
He will, of course, be provided with needful and suit-
able tools ; and these are so few and so inexpensive,
as to form one of the great advantages which a tailor
has over the workmen in many other trades. All the
tools that the apprentice or even the journeyman
requires, may be bought for a few shillings. A yard
of linen for a lap-cloth ; two pairs of scissors, one pair
moderately large, for common use, and the other small,
for button-holes ; a thimble ; a small piece of bees-
wax ; and three-pennyworth of needles, are all that he
will have occasion to buy so long as he is not a master,
or a journeyman working at home, when he must pro-
cure a sleeve-board and an iron. The more expensive
part of even these few implements, viz. the scissors,
will, with tolerable care, last for a number of years
with only the trifling expense of being occasionally
sharpened by the cutler.

His first job will probably be to sew some linings,
or to make covered buttons ; and if it be the first, he
must take care to keep them clean and without rump-
ling, or they will not be fit for use. He must also be
careful to sew them with short and regularly-placed
stitches ; and as the linings will most likely be back
and fore-stitched, he must endeavour to avoid drawing
the stitch too tight, as this will contract the seam, and
also make it likely that the thread will soon break.
Care must also be taken to keep the sewing at the
proper distance from the edge of the stuff; for if it
be too near, the seam will soon ravel out, while if it

THE TAILOR. 45

be too far away, the size of the linings will he reduced,
so as, perhaps, to make them too small. While thus
employed he should keep in mind that, if he learns to
sew linings properly, he will have less difficulty in
learning to sew seams of more consequence ; and
farther, that the more quickly he learns to do plain
work well, the sooner will he be put to that which is
more complicated, and thus will be the sooner making
useful progress in his business.

Should his first job be that of making covered
buttons, he will find it useful to have previously
committed to memory the directions already given
respecting the manner of making them. These di-
rections will assist him to understand more easily what
he may be told by the person who may have to teach
him when on the board.

When he comes to sew cloth or any other seams,
he will soon perceive that the uppermost piece of cloth
has a tendency to * drive,' or ' hold on,' as it is
termed by tailors ; that is, to slip forward, so as to
become much looser than the undermost. This is
caused by the manner of holding the cloth when
taking the stitch, as any one will readily see who
observes that, after the needle is inserted, it is neces-
sary, in order to the bringing it back again, to bend the
cloth ; in doing which the uppermost piece forms a
kind of arch over the undermost, thus making it fuller
or wider than the latter ; and as this takes place in
each successive stitch, it is plain that in the sewing a
long seam there will be a considerable length ' driven'
or 'held on' in the uppermost piece, thus making it
too short for the undermost. But there must be no
scissors used here to equalize the length of the pieces,
for this would be making what is ' bad ' yet ' worse,'
as it might wholly spoil the garment. Instead of this
desperate remedy the apprentice must use a preventive,
D 2

46 GUIDE TO TBADK.

and this will be found in taking care to follow these
few plain directions.

Before he begins the seam, let him first see that it
is basted together both true and smooth, and if it
be in a material that is more than usually liable to
4 drive,' he will find it useful to baste it with shorter
stitches than otherwise there would be any occasion
for. When this is done, he must remember to hold
the pieces of cloth firmly together between the thumb
and forefinger of the left hand ; and when he has
taken a stitch, it will farther help him, if with the
thumb he slightly draw the uppermost piece a little
towards the left hand (or from the part already
sewed), before he again inserts the needle. In both
beginning and finishing the seam, it is well to back-
prick a stitch or two, in order to prevent gathering it
up into a sort of lump. After the seam is sewn, it
has to be ' scratched up,' but if it be in a thick cloth,
it must previously be ' bit up.' The first of these
operations is necessary, in order to conceal the seam
as much as possible ; and the second, in order to
making it the better yield to the iron in pressing, so as
to lie flat or smooth. ' Scratching up' consists in draw-
ing the wool or nap of the cloth over the seam, either
with a needle's point, or with the thumb, or finger-nail.
This of course is done in a direction opposite to that
in which the nap runs, or (as tailors would say) the
' wrong way of the wool.' In ' biting up,' the cloth
is opened, or rather drawn out on each side of the
seam, until the seam itself can be taken hold of by
the teeth ; which are then made to bite the two sides
of the opening as closely together as is practicable.
This done, the seam is ready for pressing, and here
great care is requisite, especially if the cloth be of a
light or delicate colour, in order to avoid soiling it on
the right side, which is in contact with the sleeve-

THE TAILOR. 47

board. It is a good way first to pass the iron a few
times along the board ; this draws out the moisture
which it usually contains, and which is commonly
tinged with the colour of the cloth that has previously
been pressed thereon. This moisture when drawn
out should be well wiped off, and then the seam may
be safely pressed, so far as soiling is concerned ; but
there is also the danger of scorching or burning it, if
the iron be too hot. This therefore must, before be-
ing used, be tried upon a piece of some light-coloured
cloth, and it must not be used on the seam, until it
ceases to scorch or discolour the piece on which its
heat has been tried.

These directions, however, apply chiefly to woollen
cloth, upon which it is necessary that the iron should
rest for a short time, in order to prevent the seam
from rising. In materials made of cotton or linen,
there is no need to let the iron remain ; as these are
better pressed by being ' knocked down,' or by what
may be called ' hammering them open,' with sharp
and quickly repeated strokes of the iron.

After the apprentice has learnt to sew seams toler-
ably well, he will probably be put to the stitching of
edges, rilling facings, padding lappels and collars,
and in due time to the making of button-holes. Each
of the stitches used in these, with the exception of that
which is used in padding collars and lappels, has been
already described, and, therefore, it will here suffice
to give a few directions respecting the padding-stitch
only. In making this stitch, the lappel or collar
must be held in the position in which it is intended to
sit when the garment is made. To secure this pur-
pose, it must be held over the ends of the left-hand
fingers, in the proper position, while with the thumb
the padding must be slightly pushed forwards, so as
to make it a little fuller than the cloth to which it is
being sewed. The sewing is first carried from one

48 GI/IDE TO THADE.

end of the piece to the other, and is then repeated in
the contrary direction, so as that each stitch in the re-
turning row or tier is made to correspond with that
in the foregoing one, and thus when completed forms
a figure of this sort —

The stitch used, is formed by first inserting the needle
at a point corresponding to the uppermost angle at
the right hand extremity of this figure, marked 1, and
bringing it back again as near as possible to the place
where it was put in. Thus the first stitch is formed :
the needle is then passed forward to the point marked
2 ; it is there put in and brought out in a direction
corresponding to the second angle in the upper row ;
and so on, until the whole row or tier of stitches
is made. Care must be taken to avoid letting the
thread be too much visible on the cloth underneath,
and also to leave a space equal to about a third of an
inch between the sewing and the edges of the lappel
or collar. The apprentice will then for the present
have done his part of the work, and will better learn
what remains to be done by observing how a clever
workman does it, than he possibly could by any either
written or verbal directions. He is therefore requested
to make this observation attentively, as thereby he
will soon be competent to do himself that which he
sees to be both easily and cleverly done by another.

In order however that these preliminary directions
may not extend to an inconvenient length, they will
be here concluded, and in what follows, the appren-
tice will be supposed to be entrusted for the first time
with the making of an entire garment. Here also he
will derive great aid from attentively observing how
the best workmen proceed in making a garment of
the same kind as that upon which he is employed. It

THE TAILOK. 49

behoves him, moreover, to ask directions of these
men, and for his encouragement he is here apprised
that all needful directions are (generally) very cheer-
fully given to a learner, if he but show a teachable
disposition, and also a willingness to do his instructors
any little service he may have it in his power to ren-
der them.

But, after all, a little previous instruction will be
found very useful, and therefore it is here offered him,
in the hope that he may avail himself of it. It will be
assumed, that his first attempt at entirely making a
garment will be made upon a waistcoat, and here, as
in other garments, he will do well to follow the course
that is pointed out,

CHAP. VII.

WHEN he begins this garment, let him first see that
he has got all the necessary pieces for pocket welts,
facings, collar, &c. also the proper quantity of lining
and sewing trimmings, together with the proper
number of buttons, and, if any thing be wanting, it
will be the best plan to name it immediately to the
master or foreman. By doing this, he will avoid the
unpleasantness of being suspected to have lost it,
(through carelessness,) as he probably will be, if he
defers mentioning what is deficient until he wants it
for use. This being done, he will proceed to ' mark
and fit up.' By ' marking up,' is meant the mark-
ing the proper places for the button-holes, buttons,
and pockets ; and *by * fitting up,' is meant the cut-
ting the unshaped pieces of cloth intended for collar
welts and facings into their proper shapes and sizes.*

* If the waistcoat be of cloth, or any material having a woo!
or nap upon the surface, he must, as far as possible, contrive te

50 GUIDE TO TRADE.

He will learn what these are in respect to the collar.
either from the men around him, or from a paper pat-
tern cut by the master or foreman. When he has done
this, he will do well first to join the several pieces of
which the facings are to be made, as also the collar-
lining, back-seam, and whatever else that may require
joining. He will thus lessen the number of separate
pieces, and consequently, the danger of losing or of
overlaying them. The next thing to be done is to
' mark up' the foreparts — the button-hole (i. e. the
left) forepart being laid uppermost. Upon this, he
will probably find two chalk lines, the first running
across, which shows where the pocket-holes are to be
cut; and the second going down the front, which
marks the distance from the edge at which the but-
tons are to be put. If these lines are not quite re-
gular, he must make them so, and then, upon the
buttoning line, he will mark the distances from each
other, at which the button-holes and buttons are to
be placed. The proper places for the top and bottom
buttons will probably be marked upon the line made
by the master ; but if, not, his safest plan will be to
ask the direction of a workman. When he has care-
fully marked these distances with his chalk, he will
run a thread into them, which by being made to pass
through both the foreparts, will at the same time
mark the places for the button holes and the buttons.
He will take care to leave the thread considerably
loose between the several places at which he inserts
the needle, otherwise he will not have length enough
on each forepart for a sufficient mark. There must

let all the pieces in the facings be cut so as that the wool will
run in the same direction in all of them ; and if the material be
of a striped or figured pattern, he must take care to match the
stripes, or figures, as exactly as he can, especially in fixing the
pocket welts : which if not correctly sewn on, are a great blemish
upon a waistcoat, however well-made it may be in other respects.

THE TAILOR. 51

be a thread run, in the same manner, along the line
that marks the pocket-holes, and then the foreparts
must be separated. In doing this, the marking-threads
must first be drawn close in upon the side where they
are loose, and this will leave enough thread between
the foreparts for the necessary mark upon each. This
thread must be cut in the middle, so as to make the
marks equal in length, and if each of them be a little
twisted with the end of the finger, which should be a
little moistened, it may prevent the inconvenience of
having them accidentally drawn out.

The pocket welts must now be sewn upon the
forepart, and it will be found much better to do this
before the pocket-holes are cut than afterwards, as
hereby the danger of rending the foreparts is alto-
gether avoided. When the seams are sewn they must
be scratched up, and then cut open and pressed. The
welts are then to be turned in, so as to be about three
quarters of an inch wide, or if a little less it will be
none the worse. The pockets are then to be basted
in ; and then the edge of the welt must be neatly side-
stitched ; and there must also be a stitching under the
seam of the welt, after which one-half of the pocket
must be filled near to the edge of the welt, and the
other fastened both strongly and neatly to the fore-
part. It is then ready to have the ends pricked
down, each with two rows of stitches, which must be
done carefully, so as to have each end of the pocket-
hole inclosed between the rows. It is necessary be-
fore pricking the welts, to baste a piece of linen from
each end ; so as that one may reach the side-seam,
and the other the front edge of the fore-part; this
will serve to prevent the forepart from soon rending
or breaking out at the ends of the pocket-holes, and
therefore it is called a ' stay.'

The pockets are now to be sewn round the edges
with a back and fore-stitch, and are then ready for

52 GUIDE TO TRADE.

being pressed. The next thing to be done is to baste
in the shoulder-paddings, which must be fastened to
the forepart, at the shoulder seams, round the arm-
holes, and at the end of the pocket welts. At the
bottom and along the front edge it can be fastened
with the same basting-stitch as that which secures the
edges of the foreparts, which are now to be turned in
and side-stitched ; after this the button-stay is to be
put on and fastened to the forepart by a small circular
shaped sewing round each place where there is to be
a button, in order to prevent the straining of the but-
tons upon the forepart from tearing a hole in it.

This done, the collar must be carefully cut the
proper length and a piece marked off, at the hinder
end, just sufficient to go across the top of the back ;
after which it must be back-stitched to the neck, and
if it be a rolling-collar, may be held a little tight, for
about three inches from the front end (so as that it
may sit close to the forepart when turned back) ; from
hence to the shoulder seam it must be a little ' held
on,' and the neck stretched out in the same propor-
tion ; or the neck may be stretched first, as much as
is equal to the extra length of the collar, which, of
course, will then require no ' holding on.' This pro-
cess serves to prevent the neck of the waistcoat from
sitting in a fold or crease, when it comes to be used.
It must be borne in mind, that the collar is on no ac-
count to be ' held on' across the back, as this will
cause the back part of the collar to sit badly when
the wearer puts on his coat. It is far better to keep
the collar a little too tight across the back, than to
let it be, though ever so little, * held on.' Some-
times it happens that the master has cut the col-
lar pattern so long as to require the neck to be un-
usually stretched, in order to put on the whole of
the collar. In this case, the apprentice must not ven-
ture to cut the collar shorter, but must take it with a

THE TAILOR. 53

forepart and the back to his master, who will tell him
what ought to be done.*

When the collar is properly sewn on, the sean
must be pressed open, and then the collar-padding
must be basted upon the collar, and also, together
with the shoulder-padding, be fastened to the seam,
so as to keep all both smoothly and firmly together.
The collar must then be turned back just so far as to
make it of the prescribed width, when, if it fits
smoothly and neatly to the forepart, its edge must be
turned in upon the padding, with a private running-
stitch, and then (all being ready for pressing) it must
be slightly pressed along the top, in order to keep
it in its proper position. Every thing else that re-
quires pressing must be pressed with the same iron
as that which is used for the collar, and then the
facings are to be carefully basted on. The whole of
the edges must then be neatly sewn together with
such a stitch as the master may direct, and this will
be regulated by the texture, or the substance of the
material. If it be a thin and loose fabric, he will
probably order the edges of the facings to be turned
in, and then to prick the doubled edges together.
Here the apprentice should do his best, as much de-
pends upon the neatness with which this is done,
both as regards the appearance of the waistcoat and
the reputation of the maker, and if he will but give
his good-will to it, he will soon succeed in pricking
edges of this sort so as to make each side equally
true and neat. When the edges are finished he may
make the button-holes, taking care to cut them all of
equal length, with their front ends equally distant
from the edge of the waistcoat. It is now the usual
practice to cut a small, Jhalf-circular-shaped piece out

* The caution here given applies to every other case, where
there seems to have been a mistake or oversight on the part of
the master.

E 2

54 GUIDE TO TRADE.

of the front end of the button-holes, *^r doing which
the button shank, or neck, fits into the hole more
smoothly; this, therefore, must not be omitted. After
the holes are made they must be ' bit up,' in order
to bring their two sides as closely together as is need-
ful, i. e. so as that they will just meet ; and it is
farther useful to fasten them in this position, with a
slight stitch, until after they are pressed ; but before
this is done they should be made as circular at the
front ends as is practicable, which is to be effected by
putting the pointed end of a bodkin through the hole
(until it fills up the open space), and then partially
turning it round, while, at the same tune, it is gently
pulled towards the edge of the garment.

The button-holes being made, it is then proper to
put on the buttons, after which the forepart linings
must be first smoothly basted, and then neatly sewn
in with a filling-stitch ; then the back must be put in
with a strong back-stitch, care being taken not to let
it drop lower than the forepart at the bottom of the
side-seam, nor to allow it to rise higher than the fore-
part at the top of the shoulder-seam, as in either of
these cases the back will be shortened, and this may
cause the waistcoat to misfit in the neck. The seams
being sewn, the back lining has to be filled down
upon the forepart lining, just so far over as to cover
the sewing of the seams. The strings or straps by
which the waistcoat is to be drawn in to the required
size are then to be put on, and the waistcoat is ready
for being pressed off*. This should be done with
great care, lest the waistcoat should be scorched, or
otherwise discoloured, and particular attention should
be paid to the linings, that they be not in any way
soiled, nor suffered to go out of hand in a rough or
tumbled state. To prevent soiling them, it will be
found a good plan to press with a piece of thin and
clean stuff, either silk, shalloon, or calico, under the

THE TA1LOK. 55

iron, as, after all possible care has been taken to clean
this, it will usually soil a light or delicately coloured
article unless this precaution be observed.

After the waistcoat is thoroughly pressed, it will be
much improved in appearance by giving it a little
careful brushing before it be given in to the master.
Every workman who wishes to set off his work to the
best advantage will cheerfully do this, although it be
not required by any rule of the trade. If, however,
the material be such as cannot safely be passed under
a brush, it will then suffice to whisk it with a piece of
clean cloth, whether it be woollen or cotton will not
signify, so that it be quite clean. This being done, he
may consider the waistcoat to be finished, and may
take it into the cutting room to be examined.

Here a caution suggests itself, which it will be well
for the apprentice to remember : if the master finds
fault with any part of his workmanship, let him be
careful not to resent it either by his demeanour or by
unbecoming language ; he may think himself justified
in showing resentment, because the master is as he
supposes more nice than is needful, but be that as it
may, the apprentice will best consult his own interests
by endeavouring, to the utmost of his power, to meet
his master's wishes. Hereby, he will give satisfaction
to one whom he is bound to obey, and at the same
time will be contracting a habit of carefulness which
will be riot a little useful to him when he becomes a
journeyman.

The foregoing directions have reference to a single-
breasted waistcoat with a plain rolling collar, for a
plan of which the reader may look at the annexed en-
graving, p. 75. But the greater part of them will apply
also to the double-breasted waistcoat. The chief dif-
ference between these two waistcoats lies in the front,
or breast, and therefore it will suffice merely to
notice the way in which the front of the double-

56 GUIDE TO TRADE.

breasted waistcoat should be made up. The chief
things to be attended to are the holes and buttons,
which require to be very carefully marked, in order
that they may exactly correspond, and thus fit nicely
together when the waistcoat is buttoned. It is also
necessary that the lappels be sewn on without being
at all ' driven' or ' held on,' otherwise the fronts of
the foreparts will not be equal in length, however
exactly the holes and buttons may have been marked.
In sewing the lappel seams the hand should be drawn
tightly in when sewing over the breast, where there
is commonly a little swelling out of the edge, which
requires to be drawn in with the stitch, so as that the
seam may not sit loose or flabby, when the waistcoat
comes to be worn. These directions will equally
apply to the lappels of a coat, and, therefore, the
apprentice should try to keep them in mirid with a
view to his future as well as to his present advantage.
Thus much must suffice for instructions in regard
to making waistcoats. The next garments to be con-
sidered are the trowsers and the breeches. As re-
gards the trowsers, the first thing to be done is, as in
the waistcoat, to see that all the necessary pieces and
trimmings are given in with them, and if any thing
be wanting, that the master be immediately apprised
thereof, so as to prevent any dispute that might other-
wise ensue. The outside thighs should then be fitted
to each other, to see that they are exactly alike in size
and shape, as it frequently happens that there is a
considerable difference between them, through their
having been cut out in a hurry. The inside thighs
should then be examined in the same manner; and
when this is done, the next thing is the basting up the
thighs, preparatory to the seams being back-stitched.
This basting is a matter of considerable importance
in regard to the fitting of the trowsers, and, therefore,
should be done with all necessary care ; the thighs

THE TAJLOB. 57

ehould be basted up so as to be both alike in all re-
spects, and as there is frequently a loose or stretched-
out edge at the side-seam of the outside thigh, in con-
sequence of its running parallel with the selvage of
the cloth, and being also near to it, it is necessary to
take care that the fulness caused hereby should be
regularly * held in' clown the whole length of the
side-seam, in order to prevent the thigh from being
twisted, as this will hinder the trowsers from fitting
nicely, however well the master may have cut them.

The seams are now to be back-stitched, and their
width must be regulated by the nature of the material
of which the trowsers are made. If it be any thing
that will not easily ' ravel out,' the seams must be
very narrow, but if it be likely to ravel they must
be wider, and must, moreover, be ' over-cast/ or
' serged,' so as to prevent the ravelling as much as
possible. After the seams are sewn, they must, if
there be a nap on the cloth, be ' scratched up,' and
then they are ready for the pressing, but before
getting the iron, it will be proper to join all the pieces
that may require to be joined, as one well-heated iron
will press the whole, and thus both time and needless
trouble will be spared.

All the seams should now be well pressed, i. e. if
the iron be hot enough for that purpose, but if not,
then the tops and bottoms of all the seams, together
with the pieces, must be now attended to, and the re-
mainder be left until the iron is again wanted. The
facings are now to be basted on, the bottoms of the
trowsers basted up, and, with every thing else that
needs it, got ready for what is called ' a plain sew.'
There is nothing very difficult in either putting on the
facings, or making up the bottoms ; the only thing of
importance to be kept in mind is, that both the thighs
of the trowsers are to be made up in exactly the same
manner; that they will require neat workmanship,

58

GUIDE TO TIIADE.

both in the facings and the bottoms, hardly needs to
be here noticed. In fixing on the strap-buttons great
care should be taken to put them on so as to cor-
respond to the holes in the straps, or if the straps be
sewn on, then care is necessary in order to their being
put exactly in the place prescribed by the master.
The tackings of the pocket, or other slits, should be
very strong, and at the same time neat, both of which
may be easily effected with only ordinary attention.
When the tops are made up so as to be ready for the
waistbands, there follows a job of some difficulty to a
learner, viz. ' pitching the waistbands.' Upon this
being done properly a good deal depends as regards
fitting, and, therefore, it will be well first to define
the term, and then to direct how the thing defined is
to be done.

By ' pitching the waistbands' is meant the so placing
them upon the tops of the outside thighs, as that when
they are sewn on, and the fall-down brought over them,
the fall-down seam may run exactly over the middle
of the buttons on the right hand waistband front, and
in a line with the front ends of the button-holes at
the front end of the left hand waistband. At the
same time it must be seen to, that the edge at the
side of the fall-down just meets the side-seam. If,
when the fronts and sides are thus adjusted, the fall-
down will lie smoothly from side to side, the waist-
band is ' pitched' properly, but not otherwise, for, if
the fall-down in order to lie smooth must fall short
of the side-seam, the waistband is 6 pitched' too much
forward, while, on the contrary, if it projects over the
side-seam, the waistband is ' pitched' too much back-
ward. Both these errors should be carefully guarded
against, but especially the latter, which produces very
unpleasant consequences to the wearer, wrho, in this
case, will feel himself to be uncomfortably confined
across the belly, and, if he be at all corpulent, will

THE TAILOli. „, J&

suffer both pain and inconvenience. The first-named
error is not of so much consequence, yet it ought to
be carefully avoided. The waistbands being properly
sewn on, together with the fob-welt and brace-stays,
the whole may then be pressed ; after this the pockets
are to be put in, taking care to keep them clean, and
to sew them strongly, and this being done, the thighs
may be joined together, or 4 closed' as the tailors call
it, when the top buttons must be put on very firmly,
and also exactly in their proper places, or the ' tops*
will not button ' true and smooth.' The linings are
then sewn, if there be linings, and, with every thing
else that may need it, are pressed. When these are
smoothly sewn in, and it is very important that they
should be, a little farther pressing, in order to all
being thin and neat, will finish the trowsers, which,
as in the case of the waistcoat, will amply repay all
the trouble of a little brushing and trimming up before
they are inspected by the master.

With regard to the making of breeches, there is no
need to say any thing, except as respects the knees ;
but these are by far the most difficult part of this gar-
ment, and therefore call for much careful and clever
workmanship. If the breeches be intended for
* dress,' as it is called, they will be cut rather short,
just so as to come over the knee-cap, and then the
knee-garter should be kept ' tight ' in sewing it
upon the outside thigh ; nor will it need to be much
'held on' in sewing it upon the inside thigh, or
' over the ham,' as it is usually called ; but if they
be ' riding ' breeches, they will be cut rather long,
so as to just meet the swelling out of the calf of the
leg, or, perhaps, so as to come a little lower even than
this ; and here the garter must be kept a little easy
across the outside thigh, while the inside thigh, or
' the ham,' will require to be a good deal stretched
out, so as to allow of the garter being considerably

60 GUIDE TO TRADE.

' held on,' otherwise the breeches will not sit well
upon the calf, but will be perpetually ' riding up,' en-
forcing themselves upwards into the hollow between
the calf and the knee-bone. In this case they will be
too short, or rather will seem to have been cut too
short, when all the mischief has been occasioned by
the oversight of the maker in not sufficiently stretch-
ing out the ham. In order to make the breeches but-
ton close in the hollow part of the knee, i.e. between
the knee-cap and the rise of the calf, it is usual to put
the buttons more in, or farther from the edge, at this
part, than either at the top or the bottom of the button-
ing, so that the buttons, when on, stand in a curved line.
The exact direction of this curve will be determined
by the number of inches which the master will name
as the proper size of the bottom part and the middle
of the buttoning. The top part will be regulated by
the knee-slit tacking, with which the buttoning must
here correspond. The knee-holes should be both
very neatly and very strongly worked, as they are
much exposed to the eye, and also are in all cases
likely to have much hard wearing. If the garter be
intended to have a buckle, it will be needful to make
the width of the strap exactly according to the size of
the buckle, and to strengthen it by putting a strong
stay between the outside and the lining. In ' press-
ing off1 the knees, the 'ham' must be well stretched
out, so that the garter may not seem to be at all ' held
on,' otherwise the good effect of the fulness which
has really been put in, will be in a great degree pre-
vented. There is nothing more of much consequence
that needs to be added to these directions, except
that both the trowsers and the breeches require to be
thoroughly pressed over the entire surface of both
the outside and inside thighs, in order to take out the
creases which have been made either by the folding of
the cloth at the drapers', or in the course of making

THE TAILOR. 61

up the garment. This pressing is farther needful in
order to ' take off the gloss ' from such parts as have
not yet been brought under the iron, and thus to
prevent the spotted or clouded appearance that would
present itself were one part to remain without press-
ing while the other has been pressed.

It is proper to observe that the trowsers and breeches
here spoken of are supposed to be made with what is
called a ; whole fall-down,' but they are sometimes
made with a ' narrow fall-down,' which formerly was
the general fashion, and will probably be so again ere
long. This fall-down requires more nicety in the
making up than the other ; the bearers and side-welts
must be kept rather tight when sewn on to the edges
of the fall-down slit ; the seams should be small and
very regular in regard to their width, and the bottoms
of the side-welts must be ' tacked down,' so as to be
both strong and neat. They are commonly made of a
triangular form, and are called ' pointed tackings ;'
sometimes they are semi-circular, and then they are
called ' round tackings ; ' and they are at other times
made straight, and are then known as ' square tack-
ings.' It only remains to say, that the waistbands
are pitched in the same manner as in the whole fall-
down, and farther, that if there be any ' fulness ' in
that part of the inside thigh which is sewn to the
hinder part of the waistband, it must not be brought
very close either to the side-seam or to the seat-
seam, but must be principally ' held-in ' over the mid-
dle part.

Thus much must suffice for these garments, as
it is now time to say something concerning the
manner of making a coat ; and here, as in the former
ca^es, the first thing to be seen to is, whether or not
all the needful pieces of cloth, and also all the trim-
mings, are given in ; if they be not, let them be im-
mediately spoken about. This being done, the coat
p

62 GUIDE TO TRADE.

must be 4 fitted ' and ' marked up,' but these ope-
rations need not be dwelt upon, as what has already
been said of fitting and marking- up of the waistcoat
will, in a great measure, apply to the coat. One or
two words of caution may not, however, be needless.
It is necessary that all important pieces, such as the
outside-collar, the cuffs, the lappels and lappel-facings,
and the flaps, if there be any ordered to be put on,
should be provided for before the less important
pieces are cut. Any other plan of cutting up the
pieces given in for facings, &c. will be pretty sure to
involve the workman in considerable difficulty, and
he may, at the least, prepare himself to be taunted as
a cutter, whose only talent is that of being able to cut
large pieces into small ones. He may, however,
incur a heavier penalty than this, in the displeasure
of his master, and probably, also, in his own inconve-
nience, if not injury ; and it will be wise to avoid all
these consequences of cutting hap-hazard, by follow-
ing the advice given above, to which may be added,
that he will find it helpful to mark out all the pieces
before he begins to cut.

In marking the buttons and button-holes, the same
care is required as in the waistcoat, to see that they
are made to correspond with each other exactly. The
pieces intended for facings, collar-lining, &c. should
also be marked with the chalk where they are to be
joined, so as that they may be readily and smoothly
put together. When all is ' fitted ' and * marked up,'
the coat may be made in the following order ; not that
it is necessary to make it in this, rather than in any
other order, but it is well to have a regular method of
putting its various parts together, and the method
that is now to be pointed out may be found as useful
or convenient as most of the others that might be
named.

In order to lessen the number of separate pieces as

THE TAILOR. 63

soon as possible, it is a good plan to begin with stot-
ting the joins of the facings, cuffs, collar-lining, and
whatever else that may require being joined ; this is
called ' piecing/ or ' piecing out. When they are
4 pieced,' they may for the present be laid aside, and
the backs may be made. These have to be ' turned
in,* and filled and stitched, except there be a cord
or braid to be put upon the edge, and then the stitch-
ing is omitted. If the backs have been cut out of the
open or selvage side of the cloth, they will usually be
more or less loose on the edge, or ' fagged out/ as it
is commonly called, and this will make it necessary
to draw in the hand closely, or to put the trimming
on a little tight, so as to make the edges of the backs
as nearly straight as can be compassed. After this,
the flaps, if there be any to be put on, may be stitched,
and the foreparts be separated by cutting the mark-
ing stitches in the way already spoken of in treating
of the waistcoat. The flaps are then basted carefully
on, and the ends of them must be neatly pricked
clown for about one-third of then* length, from the top
downwards. The waist must then be ' closed,' tak-
ing care first to stretch out the waist-seam of the
body in the hollow part, in order that the coat, when
on, may sit close to the waist ; if there be any ' ful-
ness ' in the waist-seam of the skirt, it must be ' held
in ' as nearly as possible over that part where the hips
of the wearer may be expected to come. After the
waist is 4 closed,' the lappels must be back-stitched
on, taking care to keep the hand tight in sewing over
the breast, for the purpose of preventing the seam
from being loose, or 'fagged out.' This done, the
waist and lappel seams must be carefully pressed ;
the fulness, if any, of the skirt-waist being ' shrank
in,' unless the forepart waist requires to be farther
stretched, in order to make it of the required size.
When the seams are pressed, the hip-stays must be

64 GUIDE TO TRADE.

put on, and the side-seams may be ' closed/ taking
care that they be put together very smoothly and cor-
rectly: the plaits may then be basted up, and the
pockets put in as smoothly as possible, or they will be
likely to contract the skirt and put it out of its proper
shape. The pocket-slits should be strongly 4 tacked,'
or they will soon break out ; the top edge of the
pocket must be securely fastened to the waist-searn,
and if the front of the pocket be afterwards fastened
to the bottom of the lappel canvas, by a stay running
from the one to the other, it will be so much the
better.

After this, the lappel canvas may be put in ; it
should first be carefully basted to the forepart, and
then it must be fastened at the seams, and also by a
stitching round each of the button-marks, which will
prevent the button from soon breaking the cloth, as it
is very likely to do, unless it be thus guarded against.
The lappels must now be ' padded,' that is, the can-
vas must be sewn to the cloth in the manner pointed
out when the padding-stitch was described. This
being done, the edge of the canvas must be cut away,
so as to fall short of the edge of the lappel about one-
third of an inch. The stay-tape must now be put on,
keeping it but a little tight along the edge of the
skirt, and plain at the bottom of the lappel ; as also
upon the front edge of the lappel, as far as to the place
where it begins to turn back. From hence to the top
it must be kept tight enough to draw the edge in, so
as that when the lappel is turned back it may sit
smoothly and handsomely, the edge just touching the
forepart; across the top of the lappel, the stay-tape
may be put on nearly level, and it must then be
turned up and fastened strongly to the canvas, by
which means the coat will be guarded against soon
' breaking out,' or rending at the top of the lappel-
seam.

THE TAILOR. 6<J

The facings being first got quite ready, by drawing
in the fronts of the lappel-lacings, to make them cor-
respond to the lappels, all will now be ready for the
* iron,' and must be well pressed, — particular care
being taken with the lappels, in order to press them
so that they may fall back freely, and to the proper
width. The iron should also be passed along the
edge of the lappel, where it has been drawn in, in
order to press out the little gatherings made thereby,
otherwise the edge will be rough and irregular after
it is stitched, which is a great blemish. This being
done, the buttons may be put on, and then the shoul-
der-padding may be fastened in, being slightly sewn
to the shoulder canvas in order to keep all smooth.
This is also the time to put in' such wadding as the
body of the coat may require, to make it sit smoothly
when worn. After all is thus prepared, the facings
must be first carefully basted on, and then the back
parts must be * filled,' and the front edges ' stitched '
with more than ordinary care, as it is especially need-
ful that the workmanship here should be very neat.
The shoulder-facings may then be stitched to the
padding, and the body-facings neatly fastened to the
wadding, in order to keep the latter from falling down
into a lump, which otherwise it probably will do, and
thus be useless, if nothing worse.

The button-holes must now be made, taking care
that they be worked very true and neat, and farther,
that they all be of exactly the same length, and at the
same distance from the edges of the lappels. After
this the shoulder-seams may be sewn, and if the fore-
part be longer than the back at this part, the ' fulness '
must not be i held on,' but the seam must be sewn
plain or smooth, and whatever there is to spare of the
forepart must be carried into the scye, or arm-hole,
but on no account into the neck.

The foreparts will now be ready for the sleeves, and
v 2

6G GUIDE TO TRADE.

these, if not already made, must now be got ready.
They must be sewn with a back-stitched seam, and
care must be taken to put them smoothly together.
The cuffs should be carefully made up, in order that
they may be both alike ; and a neat button-hole will
here be very desirable. When the sleeve-hands are
tacked over, the seams ' scratched up,' and the linings
sewn, the whole must be thoroughly pressed and well
smoothed all over. The linings must then be put in,
taking care that their seams match exactly to the
seams of the sleeves, and also that the hand-facings
are not put on so as to be at all full, either in width
or length, when the sleeve is turned out. The buttons
at the cuffs are now to be put on, the elbows of the
sleeves tacked to those of the linings, and the sleeves
'hollowed' or 'cleared out' at the top of the inside
sleeve ; but this must be done according to the di-
rections given by the master, for it often happens that
sleeves, especially when cut by different masters,
require some difference in the manner of hollowing,
and a mistake here is likely to do considerable mis-
chief. The arm-holes of the coat must now be pre-
pared for the sleeves, by cutting away the paddings,
so as to be about level with the arm-hole, but the
facings should be allowed to project a little over the
edge of the arm-hole, in order that there may be
enough room to sew the sleeve-lining to it without the
risk of its soon breaking out. When this is done, the
sleeves must be back-stitched in, taking care to keep
them a little tight from the side-seam to about the
middle of the underneath half of the arm-hole. From
hence to about an inch over this half the sleeve may
be 'held on' a little, and the arm-hole stretched out
to it in the pressing, which will serve to make the sleeve
sit more comfortably at the front of the arm-hole. The
fulness of the outside sleeve must then be gathered in
with as much regularity as is possible, or it will neither

THE TAILOR. 67

* press out' nor allow the sleeve to sit handsomely
upon the shoulder. The seams being ' scratched up '
are now to be pressed, and it is necessary that this
should be done with great care, in order to guard
against stretching out the arm-hole at improper places,
as for example over the shoulder, or near the side-
seam, which will be likely to make the coat misfit.
Before beginning to press it is needful to turn the
sleeve out a little way, so that the arm-hole may be
readily got at while pressing ; and it is by far the
best plan to press but a short length of the seam at
once, as this prevents the danger of either stretching
the arm-hole, or of making creases underneath or
about it.

After the arm-holes are pressed, the facings must
be slightly yet exactly fastened to the seams, and
some wadding must be put at the top of the outside
sleeve-lining, in order to keep the fulness of the sleeve
from sitting badly ; after which the linings must be
neatly filled round, but with a slack hand, or the stitches
will be likely soon to break ; and the fulness of the
lining must be gathered in so as just to correspond
with the fulness of the sleeve ; all which being done,
and the back-seam also sewn, the coat will be ready
for the collar.

As, however, this part of the coat is almost per-
petually being altered in shape, size, &c., and as,
moreover, it varies so much in different kinds of coats,
it is difficult to give such directions respecting it as
will meet more than a very few cases, and even these
only for a short time. It must therefore suffice for
this merely to say, that it should be made as exactly
as possible according to the pattern supplied by the
master; but as regards sewing it upon the coat it is
needful to observe, that it must not be 'held on' in
front, or along that part which turns back with the
lappel, as this will make the collar sit loose or fiabby,
and thus spoil the good appearance of the coat *

68 GUIDE TO TRADE.

of its most conspicuous parts. Neither must it be
' held on' across the top of the back, as this will make
the coat sit off (or away) from the neck, and thus make
it likely that the top of the collar will be often coming
into contact with the hat of the wearer.

To whatever extent the collar may be too long for
the neck, and it is always needful that it should be
something longer, the fulness must be ' held on' in the
space between the shoulder- seams and the place at
which the collar turns over ; taking care first to stretch
out the neck, both the outside and the facing, before
sewing on the collar, and also to repeat this stretching
both when the seam is pressed open, and when the coat
is being 'pressed off.' When the seam is pressed
open, the shoulder - paddings must also be again
stretched out, so that they may not contract or confine
the neck of the coat, and then they are to be serged
to the edge of the collar-padding; after which the
facings must be smoothly basted over it, and the out-
side collar ' filled down ' over the whole ; particular
care being needful that this be done with great neat-
ness, as it is in so conspicuous a place. The coat will
now be ready for 6 pressing off,' and will, however well-
made in all other respects, be much improved in appear-
ance by this being done thoroughly and cleverly. Much
nice and skilful handling is now needful in order to
make the fronts of the lappels and the whole of the
collar sit handsomely ; but the way in which this is to
be done cannot be learned by any written directions.
It must be seen to be understood. After the coat is
pressed, the edges, unless they have been ' turned in,'
or have l;ad a cord sewn upon them, must be ' pared
oif,' that is, they must be very evenly cut away to
within a little less than the eighth part of an inch from
the stitching ; taking care, while paring, to keep them
steady, by laying them across a sleeve-board, and also
to lot the right hand rest upon the thigh so as to pro
A-cut its shaking, otherwise there is much danger of

THE TAILOR. 69

making an irregular or jagged edge, which is always
a great blemish. It should also be observed, that in
this operation the blades of the scissors should not be
held perpendicularly, but must be a little slanted, so
that the uppermost blade may have its edge ' bearing
out' or * inclining' towards the left hand. This will
cause the uppermost layer of cloth to project a little
over the undermost, and prevent the unsightly appear-
ance that would be caused by the latter projecting out
beyond the edge of the former.

After all is duly pressed and neatly pared, the only
thing that remains is, as in the other garments, to
wipe off any gloss that may have been made by the
iron, and to give the coat a slight brushing and trim-
ming, when it will be finished, and may be taken into
the cutting-room.

Directions have now been given for making an entire
plain suit, which, together with those given for the
breeches and the double-breasted waistcoat, will be
found amply sufficient to answer all useful purposes.
There is, therefore, no need to treat of any other
kinds of coats, waistcoats, or trowsers, as each is
but a variety of some one or other of such as have
already been described. Nor would it be of much use
to attempt to describe the way of making fancy gar-
ments, such as riding-habits, pelisses, and children's
dresses, since the fashions for these are so frequently
being changed, that any written directions, however
accurate at the time, would soon cease to be of much
service. As to the methods of making military and
naval uniforms, court-dresses, and the like, these also
may be far better understood by seeing them than
they can be by any other mode or kind of instruction,
while with regard to the first-named of these dresses
it ought to be noted, that they are liable to very fre-
quent and great alteration, both as to shape and trim-
ming.

70 GUIDE TO TRADE.

CHAP. VIII.

ALL, therefore, that now remains to be noticed in
the way of directions to a learner, is the method of
cutting out garments according to the rules followed
in drawing the plans in the annexed engravings. And
here also, as in the directions for making up, it must
suffice to notice a few of the plainest and most usual
garments.

The first shall be the trowsers, as in these there is
not much that is difficult. It may be well to observe
here, once for all, that it is highly important to learn
how to measure correctly, as without this the best
possible rules for cutting will avail but little when
they come to be practically applied. The following
measures for plain trowsers will be found sufficient: —
1. From the waistband seam to the knee-bone, and
from thence to the bottom, on the outside of the thigh,
for the length of the side-seam.* 2. From the fork or
crutch to the bottom, on the inside of the thigh, for
the length of the leg-seam. 3. Round the thigh, as
high as to correspond with the dotted line marked a in
the engraved trowsers plan. 4. Then again round
the thigh at the part corresponding to the dotted line
marked b. 5. Then round the knee, as is repre-
sented by the line marked c. 6. Then round the
bottom, as shown in the line marked d. 7. And then
round the waistband. These measurements are suffi-
cient for all common purposes ; while such others as
may be requisite for any particular shape or fashion
will readily suggest themselves to an intelligent person
when he needs them ; but it is evident that they can-
not be previously suggested to him by another person.

The measure being correctly taken, the next step is
to lay the cloth for the trowsers quite smooth upon the
cutting-board, taking care that the wool or nap runs
* The figures are shortened in the patterns given.

THE TAILOH.

7!

TROWSEKS.

Fig. I. i

The above and all the following Figur
arc drawn to this scale.

72 GUIDE TO TRADE.

from the right-hand end of the cloth to the left, or
from the top to the bottom of the trowsers. A chalk
line may then he drawn quite straight along the
edge of the cloth, which line will serve as a guide
in forming the side-seam. This seam will, at the top,
fall a little short of the line ; it will then run out until
it touches it at the hip, from whence it will go in until
it reaches the knee, where it will be at the distance of
half or three quarters of an inch from the line, when it
will go out till it again touches the line, and then will
run upon it down to the bottom of the trowsers (see
the dotted line marked ee in the engraved trowsers plan
in page 71). A straight line must then be drawn
across the top of the thigh about an inch from the
edge (see the line marked f in the plan). The piece
above this line serves for a top-welt to come upon the
waistband in buttoning, and therefore the length of the
trowsers is to be reckoned from this line, and not from
the top-edge of the cloth. The width of the thigh at
top is regulated by the size of the waistband, being
generally made about an inch broader than half the
length of one waistband. The fall-down seam runs in
a straight line for about two-thirds of its length, and
then in a curved line (drawn in the manner marked
g in the plan) to the top of the leg-seam. The leg-
seam (marked li} is formed by drawing a line from the
bottom of the trowsers to the point marked i, and at
such a distance from the side-seam as is required by the
measure, the measure being of course divided by two,
or halved, as the outside thigh is only half the intended
size of the trowsers, the other half being made up by
the inside thigh. The bottom must now be marked
either in a straight or a curved line, as may be re-
quired, and leaving about an inch to turn up, which
piece, in case the trowsers require to be made longer,
will be found highly useful. The outside thigh is
now ready for cutting out, after which it is laid upon
the cloth, its bottom being brought down to the left-

THE TAILOR.

73

74 GUIDE TO TRADE.

hand extremity thereof, leaving just enough to allow
of cutting a little roundness upon the bottom of the
inside thigh (as seen in the plan, fig. 2, letter l\ the
leg-seam of which is then marked in a parallel line
with that of the outside thigh, except near the top,
where it springs out a little in order to give more
room to the wearer in striding or in sitting down ; after
which the seat-seam is formed by first drawing a
straight line from the top of the leg-seam to a point
on another line, which line is drawn from the hip
cross-wise, by using the top of the leg-seam as a
pivot, and carrying the measure from the hip as far
over towards the seat-seam as is required by the size
of the waistband, which in the plan represents sixteen
inches, eight and a half of which being required for the
width of the outside thigh, there will be seven and
a half left for the width of the inside thigh (seen on
fig. 1, the dotted lines marked^' and k). The seat-
seam (marked m in fig. 2) is then formed of the proper
shape, being * drawn in' a little from the straight line
over the waist, and carried out so as to touch it over
the breech (as is represented in fig. 2, letter m). The
space from the inner to the outer line represents a
* laying in ;' i. e. a piece left on in case the seat should
require to be made larger. The inside thigh is now
marked, and may be cut out, taking care to leave a
piece down the side for a ' laying in ;' and, moreover,
either to mark or to cut the waistband of the exact
length. The trowsers are now cut out, and may be
laid aside for the purpose of cutting a waistcoat with
a rolling collar, which garment is now to be con-
sidered.

For a waistcoat, the only measurements required are,
the length, and the size round both the breast and the
waist.

Here, the stuff being folded along the middle, so as
that the two foreparts may be cut at the same time, a

THE TAILOR.
t

p __
t

WAISTCOAT.

fig. i.

it-. 2. p. 25.

Fig. 3, p. 25.

76 GUTDE TO TBADE.

line is to be drawn from top to bottom at about the
distance of an inch from the edge ; then another line
parallel to this at the distance of a ninth part of the
whole breast measure, which in the preceding engrav-
ing represents thirty-six inches, and consequently
the distance between the two parallel lines in fig. 1.
marked n and o represents four inches. The next
thing to be done is to mark the length of the forepart,
allowing one-sixth of half the breast measure for the
width of the back ; thus, if the whole length of the
waistcoat is required to be twenty-five inches, the
forepart, when the one-sixth (i. e. three inches) is
deducted, must be twenty-two inches long, exclusive of
the shoulder-seam and the ' turning in' at the bottom.
When this is ascertained, and the two parallel lines
are drawn, the next thing to be done is to carry the
measure from the bottom of the front line, which must
terminate at the bottom edge of the stuff, over to the
farther line, causing it to touch that line at about
twenty-two and a half inches from the bottom, the
extra half inch being for the seam and the ' turning
In.' y At this point a mark must be made, through
which a line must be drawn horizontally, as is repre-
sented by the line marked p in Fig. 1. After this
another horizontal line must be drawn at the distance
of one-third of the half of the breast measure, or six
inches from the uppermost one, in order to mark the
front of the neck (see Fig. 1. q).

Then, at the distance of one-eighteenth of the half
breast measure, or one inch from the top of the second
perpendicular line, a mark must be made, and also
another mark at the distance of four and a half inches,
or one-fourth of the half breast measure, from the bottom
of the same line. When this is done, a line must be
drawn from the one of these marks to the other, as is
represented in the plan by the line marked r. By the
help of this the front of the arm-hole and the width of
the forepart at the bottom are regulated — the arm-

THE TAILOK. 77

hole front, as may be seen, coming about half an inch
over the line forwards, and the bottom of the forepart
an inch over it in the opposite direction. The next
thing to be done is to make a mark upon this line at
the distance of one-fourth of the whole breast measure
from the uppermost horizontal line ; this will be nine
inches : and from this mark another line must be
drawn horizontally; then, at one-sixth of the half breast
measure (or three inches) distant from this mark,
another mark must be made, and this gives the top 01
the side-seam, and also the proper width of the fore-
part (see the line marked s). The side-seam may
now be marked, either a little curved, as in the plan,
or quite straight. The shoulder-seam is drawn by
first making a mark at the distance of one-ninth of the
half breast measure (or two inches) from the front
perpendicular line, near to the bottom of it ; and
another mark across this at the distance of one-half of
the whole breast measure (or eighteen inches) from the
uppermost horizontal line. This double mark forms
a pivot for the purpose of striking the line for the
shoulder-seam, the end of the measure being fixed on
the mark with the left hand, while with the right hand
it is carried over from the points where the second
perpendicular line forms an angle with the uppermost
horizontal one, to the distance of one-ninth of the whole
breast measure (or four inches) from the top of the
oblique line marked r r ; and this marks the seam
both as to its length and its direction.

The necl^-seam is formed by a curved line drawn
from the top of the front perpendicular line to the
point where this forms an angle with the undermost
horizontal line, carrying the curved line as far beyond
or over the perpendicular line, as may be required by
the fashion or by the height to which the waistcoat is
meant to be buttoned up. In the plan it is carried
over to an extent representing two and a half inches,
which will in general be far enough. „

78 GUIDE TO THADE.

There needs no directions as to either slanting the
bottom of the foreparts, or placing the marks for the
pockets, as these matters depend solely upon the pre-
vailing fashion, or upon the fancy of the master ; so
that when a line is drawn where the buttons are to be
placed, the foreparts are ready for being ' cut out.'

This being done, the back must be marked out in
the following way. The foreparts must be laid upon
the stuff intended for the back, so as that the back-
seam shall be parallel with the second perpendicular
line, and it must be made to project above the upper-
most horizontal line about one-third of an inch. The
shoulder-seam of the back will be three inches distant
from the back-seam at top, and six inches distant from
it at the bottom; or one-sixth and one-third of the
half breast measure. The length of the back shoulder-
seam is regulated by that of the forepart-seam. The
top of the back shoulder-seam will project above the
horizontal line about an inch, or rather more : see the
dotted lines marked 1 1, which mark the top and the
shoulder-seam of the back. The next thing is to mark
the side-seam of the back, by first deducting from the
half breast measure the width of the forepart, and then
carrying the measure out from the line that marks the
back-seam to the extent required to make up the
proper size. In the plan the width of the forepart
represents ten inches near the top of the side-seam,
and nine and a half inches at the curve ; consequently
the half back must be eight inches wide near the top
of the side-seam to make up eighteen inches, the size
here represented, and as wide at the bottom as is requi-
site to make up the half size of the waist, which in this
case is reckoned at seventeen inches ; the half back is,
therefore, seven and a half inches wide at the bottom
(the dotted line marked u shows the side-seam and
the bottom of the back). The back arm-hole is
formed by a curved line reaching, as seen in the plan,
from the lower point of the shoulder-seam to the top

TKE TAILOll. 79

of the side-seam. This completes the marking out
of the back, which may now be cut out, taking care
to leave a piece on at the side-seam in case the waist-
coat should require to be made larger.

No better directions can be given for the collar,
than that it must in all cases be regulated as nearly as
possible by the prevailing fashion, or by the taste of
the customers.

It is exceedingly difficult to teach the art of cutting
out, either by plans or by written descriptions ; never-
theless, a few words must be said respecting the coat,
but it should be clearly understood that this will, after
all, convey only a vague notion of the manner in
which this garment is cut. They may, however, be
useful to the learner when he seriously applies him-
self to the study of the art of ' cutting out.' There
are many clever men who teach this, and it is usual
for them to have what are called ' cutting clubs,'
where, by the payment of a small sum, a young man
may not only see the process of ' cutting out,' but also
may exercise himself in a practical way. To such a
source of instruction as this the learner is earnestly
advised to betake himself, if he wishes to learn the art
thoroughly, for here he will have all the necessary
helps, and at a moderate expense.

For a coat the following dimensions must be taken :
1. The length of the waist, 2. The length of the
coat. 3. The distance from the middle of the back
to the elbow, and from thence to the bottom of the
sleeve. 4. The size of the arm at the top, just above
the elbow, at the wrist, and at the bottom. 5. The
length of the front, measuring from the top of the
back-seam to the bottom of the lappel. 6. The size
of the breast just under the arms ; and, 7. The size
of the waist — to which may be added, the height of
the collar.

Here, as in the other garments, the cloth must
first be laid smoothly upon the cutting-board, with

80 GUIDE TO TRADE.

the wool or nap running towards the left hand. Then
a line is drawn along the edge of the cloth (at
about one and a half inches distant from it), and
the backs of the coat are then marked out. But
instead of attempting a long written description, such
as those given for the waistcoat and trowsers, it may
be as well, perhaps better, to refer the reader at once
and altogether to the engraved plan. In this the
whole size of the breast is assumed to be thirty-six
inches, and all the parts or proportions to be pointed
out will have reference to this as a standard. It is
hardly necessary to say, that whenever the size of the
breast is either more or less than this, all the parts
that are regulated by the breast measure will have
to be altered in the same proportion.

Fig. 1 is the back, of which the top is three inches
wide. From the back-seam to the dotted line at
the back scye is six inches. From the top of the
back-seam to the horizontal line is also six inches, and
if this line were continued so as to touch a continua-
tion of that which marks the back-scye, the latter
would be two inches in length. These numbers, re-
spectively, represent one-sixth, one-third, and one-
ninth of the half breast measure (viz. eighteen inches).
The space between the dotted and the outer line, re-
presents a piece which is left on above the standard
width, in order to meet the prevailing taste for wide
backs. The length of the waist, and the width of the
back at the hip, are altogether governed by fashion.
Fig. 2 is the forepart skirt, which is, of course, made
of the same length as the back-skirt ; the waist (letter
a a) is generally cut a little longer than the required
size, in order to give room over the hips ;* the shape
of the front, and the width of the bottom, are regu-
lated by no fixed rule, but vary with the fashions.

* The back part of the waist- seam at the hip drops from
the square 4J inches, or one-fourth of the half breast measure.
See Fig. 2. Letters b b.

THE TAILOR.

81.

GUIDE TO TRADE.
Viff 2

Fig. 3 is the body (with the back annexed to it), and
this is the most important part, as it is also the
most difficult to ' cut out.' A square is first formed
equal in size to the half breast measure, and a hori-
zontal line is drawn across this square at six inches
from the top. This line is divided into three equal
parts, each of which, in the plan, represents six inches;
these, with such variations as may be required by the
fashion, will give the width of the back across the
shoulder; the width of the arm-hole from the side-
seam to the front, and the width of the breast, exclu-
sive of the piece which is left on in front beyond the

•

THE TAILOR.

83

line of the square, and which piece is wider or nar-
rower according to the width required for the turning
back of the lappel at the top, and the size required foi
he waist at the bottom. The space left in the plai
represents three inches (or one-sixth of the half breas"
measure). The size of the arm-hole is governed b}
the size of the breast, and will commonly be found tc
be an inch, or thereabouts, less in circumference than
the half breast measure.

The shoulder-seam is formed in exactly the same
manner as in the waistcoat, which has been already
described, but would come higher up at the lower
point (as marked in the plan), only that a piece has
been marked off equal to the extra piece that is
marked upon the back. The piece marked off is re-
presented by a dotted line running alongside of the

84 GUIDE TO TRADE.

seam, and touching it at the top. It is necessary to
observe, that (in the plan) the upper point of the
shoulder-seam is brought forward upon the top of the
square about half an inch more than the rule pre-
scribes (which gives four inches or one-ninth of the
whole breast measure as the proper distance of this
point from the front of the square) ; this is done to
keep the coat from dropping in the front, as otherwise
it would be likely to do.

The side-seam is governed by that of the back,
while that is regulated by the fashion, or by fancy.
From about four inches from the top it is ' cut in'
from the true line (represented in the plan by a dotted
line), by gradually leaving this line until, at the waist, it
is about an inch distant from it. The bottom of the
body is hollowed out in the same proportion, and then
the body is stretched out to the proper size. All this
is done to prevent the coat from sitting full or in creases
across the lower part of the body or in the waist.

The neck-seam is formed in the same way as in the
waistcoat, and in like manner varies both in length and
direction with the changes of fashion. The length of the
body is, of course, governed by the length of the back.

The sleeve, represented by Fig. 4, is principally
regulated by fashion, i. e. as to its shape, size, and
length ; the only thing here requiring notice is, the
manner of forming the top of the outside sleeve. The
straight dotted line running across the plan is at the
distance of nine inches, or one-half of the half-breast
measure from the back-seam. A piece having been
allowed on the back across the shoulders, as has
before been noticed, a corresponding piece has to be
taken off from the top of the sleeve, which piece is
there represented by a dotted curved line. The width
of the sleeve at the place marked by the straight line
is eight and a quarter inches, but it would have been
nine inches if the arm-hole had not been made smaller
than the rule prescribes, i e. eighteen inches, by the

THE TAILOK. 85

addition of the piece upon the back. The point of
the fore-arm seam, marked a upon the plan, is fixed
by letting it drop from the straight line for about the
space of an inch, or it may be formed by measuring
nine inches downwards from the top of the hind-arm,
marked £>, which will reach to the point marked c,
and then carrying the measure across the sleeve in an
oblique direction upwards, until it touches the fore-
arm-seam at the 9th inch, above which place the seam
may be carried for about half an inch, as may be seen
in the plan. This rule is generally useful, but, like all
others, will have to be varied with circumstances, and
these varieties must be learned by experience, and
made as the occasions may require. The collar is
altogether governed by the fashion or by the fancy of
either the master or the customer.

It was intended to say something concerning the
method of cutting breeches and double-breasted waist-
coats, but it is necessary to omit this, as the direc-
tions already given have extended to an inconvenient
length ; and there is, indeed, no such necessity for
saying any thing relative to these garments, as the
greater part of their more important points has been
already noticed. What has been written is the result
of much careful practice, and may, therefore, prove
useful to a beginner, although the writer could have
wished it had been possible to convey his instructions
in a plainer, and, to himself, a more satisfactory
manner. This, however, owing partly to the nature
of the subject, and, perhaps, partly also to his own
want of skill in writing, he has found it impossible to
compass. Yet, if what he has written be carefully
read, always connecting this reading with a reference to
the engraved plans, he feels confident that the directions
given will be found useful to a mere beginner, and it
.« for such only that he has ventured to give them.

It may here be proper just to say, that the appren-
tice cannot too soon begin to turn his attention to this

00 GUIDE TO TRADE.

branch of his trade, especially as he will not be likely
to receive any instructions therein from his master,
for, unless a special agreement be made to that effect,
it is not customary to teach the apprentice any thing
of the art of cutting out. The indenture speaks,
indeed, of his master undertaking to teach him the
whole c art and mystery' of tailoring, and if there be
any * mystery' connected therewith, it must be in the
cutting, as it is sufficiently plain that there can be
none in the sewing; yet it would seem that the law
does not compel a master to teach his apprentice
aught about cutting. The writer, in common with
many other persons, thought otherwise, until a case
occurred under his own eye which led him to form a
different opinion. In this case the apprentice, on his
master's refusal to teach him, brought the matter be-
fore the Lord Mayor of London, when the master suc-
ceeded in his resistance, by showing that cutting was a
separate and distinct art — that it could be practised by
such as knew nothing about sewing — and farther, that
many men earned their living solely by practising it.

CHAP. IX.

THUS far the writer's object has been to assist the
apprentice in learning to be a clever tailor, and he
ventures to hope that the directions he has given will,
if followed, be found conducive to this end. But he
would fain be useful in regard to a higher purpose
than this ; for although it be a great advantage to be
a competent workman, yet this alone will be of but
little real or permanent use, unless it be accompanied
by bodily health, together with respectability of cha-
racter ; and, therefore, in what follows, the writer will
endeavour to give such advice as may assist in secur-
ing or attaining these very important advantages.

By the time the apprentice becomes a journeyman
he will, probably, have discovered, that his trade is

THE TAILOR. 87

more or less prejudicial to his health ; but as it will
then be too late to alter what has been done, his best
plan will be to use every possible precaution in order
to prevent his suffering more than is quite unavoid-
able. If he has any due regard to his true welfare,
he will not hesitate to sacrifice a little present gratifi-
cation for the sake of securing a large measure of
future benefit. For he may rest assured, that although
the life of a working mechanic may be supportable,
it cannot be either comfortable or very useful, unless
he enjoy, at least, moderately good health. It is,
therefore, plainly, of great moment, that all possible
care should be taken to secure what is so indispensa-
ble to his well-being.

The apprentice has in general but little to do in
regard to the providing himself with either food or
lodging; and, therefore, must be content to do the
best he can with what is provided for him ; but even
here much that would be hurtful to him may be
avoided, and much also may be done that will be
directly beneficial. He may not, indeed, be able to
regulate the quality of his diet, but he can, and he
ought to, regulate the quantity, for it is here that most
young persons make a great mistake, and act with
great and continual imprudence. No tailor, espe-
cially if he have any tendency to disorder of the
stomach, can safely indulge in either taking full
meals, or in eating, as is often done, a variety of indi-
gestible articles between his meals. If, therefore, the
apprentice does either of these things, he will not fail
to pay the penalty due to his folly, but will soon find
that his stomach is disordered, and he will farther
discover what, perhaps, he did not before suspect,
that this organ cannot long be out of order without
producing other and yet more serious mischief, which,
if not repaired, will in all probability imbitter the
whole of his future life. In order to avoid so great
an evil, let him be careful to both eat and drink tern-

S'S GUIDE TO TBA.DB.

p -irately, or if need be to restrict himself to a fixed
and small quantity, at tlie same time taking care to
eat nothing between his meals, and he will soon be
able to know whether or not there is need for these
precautions, by observing the sensations he feels in
his stomach after having taken food. If he be dis-
posed to costiveness, he will find it useful to take
occasionally a little white mustard seed in the morn-
irig as soon as he rises, and he may also find it
well to chew a small piece of rhubarb an hour before
dinner, but let him on no account indulge in any
excess of either eating or drinking and then take
medicine, as many thoughtless people do, with a view to
lessen or remove the mischief, for, unless in extreme
cases, this procedure does but increase it. The best
remedy in this case is fasting until the stomach is re-
lieved by the ordinary operations of nature ; this may,
indeed, seem to be a somewhat tedious process, but it
is, nevertheless, both safe and inexpensive, and on these
accounts, besides others, is worthy of a patient trial.

It is, moreover, very injurious to make a practice of
taking aperient or any other medicines regularly, or
without considerable periods of intermission, for in
this case the constitution is likely to be both seriously
and permanently injured by the large quantities of
drugs which it will eventually be necessary to take in
order to procure even a moderate effect. The best
method of restoring the tone of a weakened stomach
is by constantly rising early, taking regular exercise,
which a young and single man can well afford to do,
and observing strict temperance in eating and drink-
ing, taking care wholly to reject whatever he finds
to be unsuitable to his stomach, and this he will
easily ascertain by his own observations, and that, too,
far more exactly than can be learned of any medical
man, however skilful he may be. Personal cleanli-
ness is also a very important means of preserving the
health, and will, moreover, be found useful in the way

THE TAILOR. 89

of helping to restore it when interrupted by any ordi-
nary cause. A hint upon this subject is not mis-
placed or needless, inasmuch as tailors are much in
danger of contracting dirty and slovenly habits, and,
therefore, the apprentice cannot too early endeavour
to avoid them, since when once formed they are not
easily broken off. But the chief danger to the health
arises at the time when the apprentice first becomes a
journeyman ; until then he has in general the benefit
of being both taken care of and properly advised by
those around him ; but as he will now wish to be
quite at his own disposal, it is most likely that he will
forego the advantage of living with his relatives or
friends for the sake of being- at full liberty to do
as he pleases. If he have been apprenticed in a small
country place, he will most probably decide upon
leaving his home for London, or some other large
town, where he may see the world, as it is called,
and he will be the more ready to do this on account
of the larger wages he may thereby be enabled to
earn. He is not, perhaps, to be blamed for making
this change, but he ought to be apprised that there is
connected with it considerable hazard both as to his
health, and to his moral character. As regards his
health it is almost certain that it will soon be placed
in jeopardy by a variety of circumstances, some of
which he will not, perhaps, have the power to alter.
Among these may be reckoned damp or ill-aired beds
or linen ; unsuitable food ; the necessity for often
taking his meals while at work on the board ; expo-
sure to great and sudden changes of temperature, both
from heat to cold and from cold to heat ; to all of
which must be added, the very probable want of a
comfortable lodging, viz. one where he might be a
little carefully tended or nursed, if need required.
As he will assuredly meet with some if not all of
these perils to his health, and as any one of them is
sufficiently powerful to inflict upon it considerable

90 GUIDE TO TRA.DE.

injury, it ought to be his earnest concern to learn
how the evil may be the best counteracted, since it
cannot be altogether avoided. As to the first danger,
he may in a great measure avoid it by sleeping be-
tween the blankets, until he is assured that there
is no farther danger, which there will not be after the
first few nights ; with respect to his linen, if he have
not access to a fire, he may contrive to make it fit for
wearing by keeping it for a night or two between the
uppermost blanket and the coverlet of his bed. But
let him on no account put it on just as it comes from
the washerwoman, for he may be well assured that it
will then be too damp to be worn with safety. As to
his food, he will, so far as dinner is concerned, be able
to get what is tolerably suitable at an eating-house
unless when his work is wanted in a hurry, so that he
has not time to leave the board. In this case, let him
beware of taking the substitute for dinner, which is
commonly sent from the ' beer-house.' This usually
consists of a newly baked loaf, a slice of single
Gloucester new cheese, and a pint of porter — the
thoroughly indigestible nature of which when put
upon a tailor's stomach is well understood even by
tailors, who, consequently, jocosely denominate them
4 sponge, soap, and heavy wet.' When there is not
time to go to dinner, it will be found far better either
to procure a dry hard biscuit, or even to fast altogether,
rather ..than to take these things upon a stomach that
is already weakened by six hours' confinement in an
unhealthy posture, and which at the same time is not
much the better for the breakfast that was taken.
And this leads to a word or two respecting this meal
also : it is usually taken while working upon the
board, as there is no breakfast ;:irne allowed to tailors,
whether they work by the ' day' or the 4 piece.' The
articles usually furnished are quite new bread, a slice
of butter, which is not often very good, and a pint of
a strange mixture that is called tea, which, however,

THE TAILOJEU 91

very little resembles the tea made by a good house-
wife. Such a breakfast as this cannot fail of being
hurtful to the stomach, if it be regularly taken for any
great length of time. But it is not now necessary to
take it at all, as a good and wholesome breakfast may
be procured, and for less money than the bad one, at a
coffee-shop, if it be a respectable one — otherwise the
difference will not be great. Many men take their
breakfasts at such a shop before they go to work, and
the only objection against doing so is, that there is
then so long a time to wait before they go to dinner :
this, however, is no great evil, perhaps none at all,
but if it be felt inconvenient, any one may always
obviate the inconvenience by keeping a piece of dry
bread or a biscuit in his pocket, and taking a piece of
it when he finds it needful to do so. This breakfast
at the coffee-shop will be a good one, if it consists of a
dry toast and a cup of strong coffee ; butter, sugar,
and milk, are, indeed, very palatable articles, but
they are mere luxuries, and, moreover, are not unfre-
quently positively injurious to those who take them.
If, however, something besides the toast and coffee
be desirable, then the yolk of an egg may be taken,
which being boiled hard and well masticated in eating,
will be both palatable and nutritious. The cost of
breakfast even with this addition will not be greater
than for the very unsuitable meal he will otherwise
receive from the ' beer-house.'

There is no time allowed for what in some trader
is called ' fours,' but there is commonly an opportu-
nity of getting some porter or ale in the course of
the afternoon, and here also caution is needful, for
neither of these articles, nor indeed any fermented or
spirituous liquor, is very suitable for a tailor, espe-
cially when at his work. But as he cannot often pro-
cure what would be more suitable, he should take care
to drink of these temperately ; should he choose malt
liquor, and this be at all acid, he may always correct

92 GUIDE TO TRADE.

this evil by getting a little of the f carbonate of soda,'
and putting a small quantity of it into the beer ; this
will neutralize the acid, and the beer, if drank in its
state of effervescence, will be much the better for his
stomach, while it will be equally palatable as before.

At supper time, the quantity of food taken should
always be small, and it should consist of such articles
as are most agreeable to the stomach rather than the
palate. Many young men hurt themselves by taking
at this meal large quantities of radishes, onions, water-
cresses, or other raw vegetables ; or it may be that
they eat shrimps, crabs, oysters, periwinkles, or such-
like fish, that are equally indigestible. To these things
they will sometimes add cheese, and their bread will
be, as usual, new, or very nearly so. Upon this hete-
rogeneous mass of solid food they will put, perhaps,
two or three pints of porter, and probably some spiri-
tuous liquor; while, as if to make the mischief as
complete as possible, they will smoke a considerable
quantity of tobacco, and sit sometimes for several
hours in company with a number of men who are
similarly employed. It were a waste of words to de-
scribe at length how injurious all this must necessarily
be to the health of a young man, perhaps just come
from the country, where he has breathed a compara-
tively pure air, and has had many other means of pre-
serving his health, such as he will not easily find, or
even a substitute for them, in a large and crowded
city. The sad consequences of this imprudence are
soon perceptible, not only by the subject of it, but also
to all around him ; and it is well for him when he
escapes with no worse consequences than a greatly
and constantly disordered stomach, for distressing as
this is, it is not the worst, by far, of the effects that
may and often do ensue upon such egregious folly as;
that of which he has been guilty.

But enough has been now said upon this subject to
warn such as are disposed to take the warning. To such,

Ji 2

THE TAILOK. 93

however, as are not, it would be only a waste of time to
say any thing farther. What has been said must there-
fore suffice, and this will be found useful if duly regarded.

As to exercise, there certainly are difficulties in the
way of taking it regularly and at proper times, but
these may to a great extent be obviated by a little
prudent management. A good walk, both in the
morning and the evening, may be secured by simply
taking care to lodge at a considerable distance from
the shop, which arrangement will make it necessary
to rise in the morning earlier than otherwise it would
be, and thus a second benefit will be obtained. There
will also probably be the advantage of breathing a
somewhat purer atmosphere than that of the crowded
city, as a convenient lodging for a single man may
be readily found on the skirts of the town, and it is
thitherward that his attention should be directed when
he seeks for one. If he will but make the experiment
he will find himself none the worse, but most likely
much the better, both in health and in personal com-
fort, by having a walk of from two to three miles every
day. In addition to this he may often contrive to get
a short walk before dinner, and this will prepare him
to take that meal with far more advantage than if he
sits in the tap-room of an ale-house, and gets to smok-
ing or drinking, as is often done before dinner as well
as afterwards. The best way to avoid all temptation
to this practice is to refrain altogether from taking his
meals at a beer-house, or in any other way making
such a place his home.

The next thing that remains to be noticed is,
* respectability of character;' and here it should be
understood that a mechanic may be, if he pleases, as
respectable as a nobleman in all that goes to make up
true respectability. And it is very important that
a young man should aim at preserving or attaining
this, as hereby he will be sure in the long run to gain
the respect of both his master and his fellow-workmen,

94 , GUIDE TO TRADE.

and will also, on this account, be likely to secure con-
stant employment, and that too, perhaps, in preference
to a superior workman who is of a disreputable cha-
racter and appearance.

Masters in general have a decided predilection for
decently-dressed and well-behaved workmen, and sel-
dom fail to show their regard for such, while they will
sometimes discharge a man that is dirty, ragged, and
vulgar, solely on account of these faults.

But highly important as is this respectability, it will
not be likely to be duly valued unless care be taken
to avoid the following evils — for they are really evils,
and great ones too, whatever may be thought or said
to the contrary.

And first, let every young man be careful to have a
bed-room entirely to his own use, as the first step to
his ruin may consist in having a fellow-lodger, espe-
cially if he be a dissolute man, and such men as this are
usually very forward in getting an inexperienced youth
to lodge with them, since hereby they can often manage
to indulge their passion for intemperance or for gam-
bling at the expense of another person. No young
man ought therefore to place himself in circumstances
of so much peril. As to the common plea of saving
expense thereby, it is altogether futile, since more than
double, or even treble, the rent of a decent room may
be and often is expended in one night's debauch.

And then let such a one beware of going to the
beer-house in the evening after he leaves work, as he
will thereby be in danger of being 'led on' by con-
firmed sots or by gamblers, until he will fall into their
habits, perhaps almost imperceptibly to himself, and
thus without intending to do any thing more than to
drink a little beer in a social way, and to smoke what
is called a ' friendly pipe,' he will gradually learn to
spend, perhaps, several hours every evening in drink-
ing, smoking, and playing cards, bagatelle, and such-
like games, to the joint injury of his health, his morals,

THE TAILOR. 95

and his pocket. Besides which, he will be in farther
danger of learning to roam the streets late at night, and
thus gradually to form associations with dissolute per-
sons, by whose examples and persuasions he will in all
probability be led farther onward in folly and vice, and
in the end to incurable disease or a premature death.

He should also take care to avoid seeking amuse-
ment in company with what are called 4 good fellows,'
either in the streets, or at fairs, races, theatres, ' free
and easy ' clubs, odd-fellows' lodges, and the like ; as
hereby he will doubtless get no good, and the proba-
bility is that he will get much harm, by learning habits
of idleness and dissipation, for the days as well as the
evenings and the nights will be often required for one
or other of these amusements.

Moreover, let him be careful how he spends his
Sundays, otherwise he will gradually be drawn into
the very common, yet very injurious, habit of spend-
ing the first half of that day in a listless manner, being
neither shaved, washed, nor dressed, and the remainder
of it in either tippling at an ale-house, or revelling in
a place yet more dangerous to his health and morals.

Let him, on no account, be either unwilling or
ashamed to attend the public worship of Almighty
God ; for there is but little hope of his escaping the
manifold temptations that will inevitably beset him if
he sets out in life by habitually neglecting the duty he
owes to his Maker — and this duty is altogether neg-
lected by perhaps more than ninety out of every
hundred men in the trade. He will soon, by the mere
habit, overcome all his unwillingness, and he will also
soon cease to be annoyed by the jeers of others who,
when they see a young man determined to live soberly
and rationally, not only soon leave off bantering him,
but also ere long will learn to respect him the more
for the attention he pays to duties which, with all
their seeming contempt of them, they are still conscious
are incumbent upon themselves.

96 GUIDE TO TRADE.

There will be plenty of time in the intervals between
the morning and the evening services for either read-
ing,* walking, or any other becoming recreation, and
in fine weather a pleasant and healthful evening walk
may be secured by attending public worship in one or
other of the adjacent villages ; and in this case he will
find himself far better prepared for his to-morrow's
work than he would have been had he spent the same
time at an ale-house, or even at a tea-garden.

If he attends to these admonitions and counsels, he
will ultimately find that, although he may not be able
to command great wealth, or fame, or station, he will
both acquire and enjoy what is far better than all these
together, namely, good health, a peaceful and con-
tented mind, a fair reputation, and in general as much
money as will enable him to procure all the necessaries
and many of the comforts of life. And should he at any
subsequent time be enabled to become a master, he will
be all the more likely to succeed well in that capacity,
for having been an industrious, careful, and well-be-
haved journeyman. Such cases are by no means rare,
and although all cannot be masters, much less wealthy
masters, yet all may be worthy and intelligent men, and,
being such, may reasonably look for a sufficient main-
tenance, and also for much real and lasting enjoyment.

* There will be no difficulty in finding time to read on other
days as well as on Sundays, if there be a desire to do so. And
there will be such a desire wherever there is any perception of
the value of this exercise as a means of useful instruction, com-
bined with endlessly diversified amusement. There are now
ample opportunities for reading at all the more respectable of the
coffee -shops, where, for a much less sum than is usually spent at
the beer-house, a comfortable supper may be had, together with
the opportunity of quietly perusing many valuable publication.

THE END.

A. SWEETING, PRINTER, BARTLETT'b BUILDINGS, HOLBORN.

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